Ultrasound-based transient elastography compared to magnetic resonance elastography in soft tissue-mimicking gels

Phys Med Biol. 2009 Nov 21;54(22):6979-90. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/54/22/015. Epub 2009 Nov 4.

Abstract

Ultrasound-based transient elastography (TE) and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) are increasingly used methods for the clinical evaluation of soft tissue mechanical properties and their alteration under diseased conditions. This study proposes a comparison between magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and ultrasound-based transient elastography (TE). Both methods were tested on the same soft tissue-mimicking gels in a common frequency range in order to allow for direct quantitative comparison. For the four gels tested, relatively good agreement was found between the shear moduli measured by both methods, with an averaged relative difference of 23%. This study demonstrates that under the assumption of homogeneous media that are significantly more elastic than viscous, quantitative results obtained by both methods are comparable.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Biomimetic Materials*
  • Connective Tissue / anatomy & histology*
  • Connective Tissue / diagnostic imaging*
  • Elasticity Imaging Techniques / instrumentation
  • Elasticity Imaging Techniques / methods*
  • Gels*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / instrumentation
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
  • Phantoms, Imaging

Substances

  • Gels