Progress in MR Elastography of Human Lung Parenchyma: Evaluation of Regional Density Measurements and Faster Imaging Sequences

Yogesh K. Mariappan¹, David L. Levin¹, Kevin J. Glaser¹, Richard L. Ehman¹, Kiaran P. McGee¹

It has been shown that pulmonary MR Elastography (MRE) can resolve the effective stiffness of human lung parenchyma using a short-TE spin echo (SE) technique. In this work, estimation of true parenchymal stiffness is described and involves the application of a SE EPI MRE sequence and GRE lung density estimation technique. This approach was evaluated on a preserved lung specimen and on healthy human volunteers. Stiffness values obtained with the EPI-MRE sequence were comparable to those from the SE technique. In addition, measured lung tissue density and true stiffness values were in agreement with previously reported estimates.