Mapping heterogenous anisotropic tissue mechanical properties with transverse isotropic nonlinear inversion MR elastography

• Published in: Medical image analysis Vol. 78; p. 102432
• Main Authors: McGarry, Matthew, Van Houten, Elijah, Sowinski, Damian, Jyoti, Dhrubo, Smith, Daniel R., Caban-Rivera, Diego A., McIlvain, Grace, Bayly, Philip, Johnson, Curtis L., Weaver, John, Paulsen, Keith
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.05.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Algorithms; Anisotropic; Anisotropy; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiology; Brain mechanics; Crosstalk; Damping ratio; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; Elasticity Imaging Techniques - methods; Elastography; Humans; Inversion; Magnetic properties; Magnetic resonance; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Mechanical properties; Muscles; Neuroimaging; Parameter estimation; Reproducibility; Shear modulus; Substantia alba; Tensors; Tissues; Transverse isotropic; White matter; White Matter - diagnostic imaging; MRE; TI-NLI; LR; Anisotropic; Brain mechanics; NLI; White matter; AP; NITI; SPR; DTI; Transverse isotropic; FA; Elastography
• ISSN: 1361-8415; 1361-8423; 1361-8423
• DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2022.102432

•A novel finite element based magnetic resonance elastography inversion for in vivo mechanical property imaging of heterogenous, anisotropic tissue is presented.•Imaged parameters include shear modulus, damping ratio, shear anisotropy and tensile anisotropy.•Good quantitative and spatial accuracy, as well as low noise sensitivity was demonstrated with simulated data.•In vivo brain imaging demonstrated bilateral symmetry and correspondence with anatomical structure for all parameters and good scan-to-scan repeatability. The white matter tracts of brain tissue consist of highly-aligned, myelinated fibers; white matter is structurally anisotropic and is expected to exhibit anisotropic mechanical behavior. In vivo mechanical properties of tissue can be imaged using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). MRE can detect and monitor natural and disease processes that affect tissue structure; however, most MRE inversion algorithms assume locally homogenous properties and/or isotropic behavior, which can cause artifacts in white matter regions. A heterogeneous, model-based transverse isotropic implementation of a subzone-based nonlinear inversion (TI-NLI) is demonstrated. TI-NLI reconstructs accurate maps of the shear modulus, damping ratio, shear anisotropy, and tensile anisotropy of in vivo brain tissue using standard MRE motion measurements and fiber directions estimated from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). TI-NLI accuracy was investigated with using synthetic data in both controlled and realistic settings: excellent quantitative and spatial accuracy was observed and cross-talk between estimated parameters was minimal. Ten repeated, in vivo, MRE scans acquired from a healthy subject were co-registered to demonstrate repeatability of the technique. Good resolution of anatomical structures and bilateral symmetry were evident in MRE images of all mechanical property types. Repeatability was similar to isotropic MRE methods and well within the limits required for clinical success. TI-NLI MRE is a promising new technique for clinical research into anisotropic tissues such as the brain and muscle. [Display omitted]