MRE of in Vivo Human Lung Parenchyma: Feasibility Study of Motion Encoding Using the Imaging Gradients with 1H MRI

Yogesh K. Mariappan¹, Kevin J. Glaser¹, Armando Manduca¹, Richard L. Ehman¹, Kiaran P. McGee¹

Application of Magnetic Resonance Elastography within the lung is challenging because of the inherently low ¹H MR signal. The additional motion-sensitizing gradients inserted into the conventional MR sequence necessary for MRE results in longer echo times, further degrading the signal from lung parenchyma. We hypothesized that with appropriate manipulations, the crusher gradients of a spin echo sequence can be used for motion detection, while maintaining a short echo time. We tested this hypothesis in healthy human volunteers and found that it is feasible to detect motion within the lungs with the imaging gradients while maintaining sufficient lung tissue signal.