Feasibility Study of Assessing Progression of Chronic Liver Disease with MR Elastography in an in vivo Animal Model

Meng Yin¹, Kevin J. Glaser¹, Jason L. Bakeberg², Christopher J. Ward², Peter C. Harris², Richard L. Ehman¹

A feasibility study was performed for measuring hepatic shear stiffness in small animals to identify whether a selected animal model merits further study to see if hepatic stiffness correlates with hepatic inflammation and fibrosis progression. The results of this preliminary study demonstrated that increased liver stiffness is an early marker of disease progress in a Pkhd1 mouse model. If these results can be further confirmed with more sophisticated mechanical models to separate fluid-related inflammation and matrix-related fibrosis effects, MRE may provide means to distinguish hepatic inflammation before the onset of hepatic fibrosis.