High-resolution multifrequency MRE at high field strengths

 

Gergely Bertalan, Jürgen Braun, Ingolf Sack

 

Rheological constants measured on different length scales provide insight into the biomechanical properties of the tissue. However, it is largely unknown to which extend biomechanical properties are scale-invariant and if tissue mechanical parameters can be compared when acquired at different scales. State-of-the-art measurement modalities for investigating tissue mechanical properties at different scales such as scanning force microscopy, tensile tests or macro indentation are limited by being surface based and do often not provide measurements in a wider dynamic range. In contrast, MRE can quantify the mechanical properties of biological tissues in volume samples at different mechanical excitation frequencies. State-of-the-art MRE measures mechanical properties on the millimeter and sub-millimeter scale. In this project, we try to develop MRE for investigations of small tissue samples at high harmonic stimulation frequencies with high spatial resolution to bridge the gap between macroscopic MRE measurements and micromechanical test methods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure: mouse brain stiffness at different resolutions