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Abstract #3400

Non-Invasive Measurement of Vitreous Humor Stiffness in the Mouse Using MR Elastography

Erik Holt Clayton1, Qing Wang1, Sheng Kwei Song2, Philip V. Bayly1,3

1Mechanical Aerospace & Structural Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, United States; 2Radiology/Radiological Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, United States; 3Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, United States


MR elastography (MRE) shows great promise for estimating the stiffness of various biological tissues. In this study, the shear modulus of the mouse eye vitreous humor was determined with MRE. A novel corneal actuation system was devised to non-invasively impart propagating shear waves into the vitreous. Spatial-temporal images of the corresponding wave field were acquired at 4.7T using a custom spin echo pulse sequence. Viscoelastic material parameters were extracted from the displacement field by a least-squares inversion method. Results show that MRE of the mouse vitreous is feasible, and suggest that MRE may be applicable to diagnosis of ocular disease.