title: In vivo brain viscoelastic properties measured by magnetic resonance elastography.
abstract: Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive imaging technique used to visualise and quantify mechanical properties of tissue, providing information beyond what can be currently achieved with standard MR sequences and could, for instance, provide new insight into pathological processes in the brain. This study uses the MRE technique at 3 T to extract the complex shear modulus for in vivo brain tissue utilizing a full three-dimensional approach to reconstruction, removing contributions of the dilatational wave by application of the curl operator. A calibrated phantom is used to benchmark the MRE measurements, and in vivo results are presented for healthy volunteers. The results provide data for in vivo brain storage modulus (G'), finding grey matter (3.1 kPa) to be significantly stiffer than white matter (2.7 kPa). The first in vivo loss modulus (G'') measurements show no significant difference between grey matter (2.5 kPa) and white matter (2.5 kPa).
authors.affiliation: Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, UNSW, Sydney, Australia. mgreen@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Lynne E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bilston
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sinkus
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002138:Calibration; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004548:Elasticity; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012399:Rotation; D014783:Viscosity