Cyclic Motion Encoding for Enhanced MR Visualization of Slip Interfaces

Yogesh Kannan Mariappan¹, Kevin J. Glaser¹, Armando Manduca², Richard L. Ehman¹

The presence of low-friction slip interfaces between some tissue surfaces is very important and when lost, can lead to serious conditions, such as bowel adhesions in the abdomen or flexor muscle adhesions of the forearm. Hence, there is potential diagnostic value for improved methods for noninvasively assessing the degree of mechanical connectedness across tissue interfaces. We developed and tested a shear-line imaging technique, employing cyclic motion-encoding gradients and synchronized vibrational motion, to generate intravoxel phase dispersion and signal loss at slip interfaces between tissues in MR magnitude images, thereby providing a sensitive method for evaluating the functionality of tissue slip interfaces.