title: Convertible pneumatic actuator for magnetic resonance elastography of the brain.
abstract: Here we present a novel pneumatic actuator design for brain magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). Magnetic resonance elastography is a phase contrast technique capable of tracing strain wave propagation and utilizing this information for the calculation of mechanical properties of materials and living tissues. In MRE experiments, the acoustic waves are generated in a synchronized way with respect to image acquisition, using various types of mechanical actuators. The unique feature of the design is its simplicity and flexibility, which allows reconfiguration of the actuator for different applications ranging from in vivo brain MRE to experiments with phantoms. Phantom and in vivo data are presented to demonstrate actuator performance.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biodiagnostics, National Research Council of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 1Y6. peter.latta@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Latta
authors.forename: Marco L H
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gruwel
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Debergue
authors.forename: Brendon
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Matwiy
authors.forename: Uta N
authors.initials: UN
authors.lastname: Sboto-Frankenstein
authors.forename: Boguslaw
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tomanek
mesh_terms: D000388:Air; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000502:physiology; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014159:Transducers