Detection of Tissue Inflammatory Change with Multifrequency 3-D Magnetic Resonance Elastography

Meng Yin¹, Kevin J. Glaser¹, Jun Chen¹, Yogesh K. Mariappan¹, Jayant A. Talwalkar², Richard L. Ehman¹

To investigate the utility of MRE derived mechanical properties in detecting hepatic inflammation, we performed multifrequency 3-D/3-axis MRE technique on poroelastic phantoms and 87 patients with biopsy-proven chronic liver disease. Results demonstrated systematic variations in mechanical properties with increased interstitial fluid pressure, with delta (acrTan(G/G)) the most promising. These findings offer preliminary evidence of the potential to extend MRE to distinguish and independently assess necroinflammatory and fibrotic processes.