Cardiac-Gated Hepatic MR Elastography with Intrinsic Transient Waveforms

David Andrew Olsen¹, Pengfei Song¹, Kevin J. Glaser¹, Richard L. Ehman¹

In conventional MR elastography (MRE), an external vibration source generates harmonic waves to characterize tissue. In this study, we developed and evaluated a dynamic MRE method for quantifying liver stiffness using intrinsic transient waveforms imparted on the liver by the beating heart by synchronizing motion-encoding gradients to the cardiac cycle. Sixteen subjects were imaged with conventional harmonic and cardiac-gated transient MRE. The results show that this method is reproducible and gives quantitative stiffness values that approximate those obtained with conventional MRE and may allow for the eventual screening of patients with liver disease using standard MRI equipment.