Abstract
Purpose: To develop a rapid proton MR elastography (MRE) technique that can quantify the absolute shear stiffness of lung parenchyma, to investigate the ability to differentiate respiration-dependent stiffness variations of the lung, and to demonstrate clinical feasibility.
Materials and Methods: A spin-echo echo planar imaging MRE sequence (SE-EPI MRE) with a very short echo time was developed and tested in a series of five healthy volunteers at three different lung volumes: (i) residual volume (RV), (ii) total lung capacity (TLC), (iii) and midway between RV and TLC (MID). At each volume, lung density was quantified using a MR-based density mapping sequence. For reference, data were acquired using the previously described spin-echo lung MRE sequence (SEMRE). MRE data were also acquired in a patient with proven Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) to test clinical feasibility.
Results: The SE-EPIMRE sequence reduced total acquisition time by a factor of 2 compared with the SE-MRE sequence. Lung parenchyma median shear stiffness for the 5 volunteers quantified with the SE-EPI MRE sequence was 0.9 kPa, 1.1 kPa, and 1.6 kPa at RV, MID, and TLC, respectively. The corresponding values obtained with the SE-MRE sequence were 0.9 kPa, 1.1 kPa, and 1.5 kPa. Absolute shear stiffness was also successfully measured in the IPF patient.
Conclusion: The results indicate that stiffness variations due to respiration could be measured with the SE-EPIMRE technique and were equivalent to values generated by the previously described SE-MRE approach. Preliminary data obtained from the patient demonstrate clinical feasibility.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1230-1237 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2014 |
Keywords
- Interstitial lung disease
- Lung MR elastography
- Lung fibrosis
- Magnetic resonance elastography
- Shear stiffness
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging