Lei Xu1, 2, Jun Chen1, Kevin J. Glaser1, Meng Yin1, Phillip J. Rossman1, Richard L. Ehman1
1Radiology Department, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States; 2Radiology Department , Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
To investigate the feasibility of using MRE for the evaluation of the mechanical properties of the in vivo aortic wall. The feasibility of performing pulse-gated cine MRE technique in the abdominal aorta was assessed in five healthy volunteers. In the study, the waves were well visualized within the lumen of the abdominal aorta in the diastolic phase, but they were not well visualized during systole. A significant correlation between E*t product of aortic wall in the five volunteers and their age was revealed (r2=0.81). The study shows that MRE is feasible for assessing the elastic properties of the abdominal aorta.