title: A signal/noise analysis of quasi-static MR elastography.
abstract: In quasi-static magnetic resonance elastography, strain images of a tissue or material undergoing deformation are produced. In this paper, the signal/noise (S/N) ratio [SNR] of elastographic strain images, as measured by a phase-contrast technique, is analyzed. Experiments are conducted to illustrate how diffusion-mediated signal attenuation limits maximum strain SNR in small displacement cases, while the imaging point-spread function limits large displacement cases. A simple theoretical treatment agrees well with experiments and shows how an optimal displacement encoding moment can be predicted for a given experimental set of parameters to achieve a maximum strain SNR. A further experiment demonstrates how the limitation on strain SNR posed by the imaging point-spread function may potentially be overcome.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samani
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sciarretta
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luginbuhl
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Plewes
mesh_terms: D004058:Diffusion; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009622:Noise; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted