Magnetic Resonance Elastography

磁共振弹性成像

• 批准号: 8435481
• 负责人: Richard L. Ehman
• 金额: $ 32.16万
• 依托单位: MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1997
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1997-07-05 至 2015-12-14
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8435481
• 关键词: Abdomen; Accounting; Acoustics; Adrenal Glands; Affect; Algorithms; Anisotropy; Biological Markers; Biopsy; Body Regions; Breast; Cancer Detection; Characteristics; Clinical; Clinical Research; Computer software; Data Reporting; Data Set; Detection; Development; Device or Instrument Development; Diagnosis; Diagnostic; Diagnostic Imaging; Diagnostic Procedure; Diffuse; Disease; Engineering; Evaluation; Frequencies; Goals; Grant; Hand; Health; Hepatic; Image; Imaging Device; Imaging Techniques; Imaging technology; Investigation; Kidney; Lesion; Lighting; Liver; Liver diseases; Magnetic Resonance Elastography; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Malignant Neoplasms; Maps; Mechanics; Methods; Modeling; Motion; Normal tissue morphology; Organ; Palpation; Pancreas; Patients; Pattern; Pelvis; Performance; Phase; Physicians; Physiologic pulse; Process; Property; Prostate; Protocols documentation; Reproducibility; Research; Resolution; Rheology; Role; Science; Small Intestines; Specimen; System; Techniques; Technology; Testing; Time; Tissue Model; Tissues; Touch sensation; Training; Ultrasonography; Update; Uterus; Venous Pressure level; Work; X-Ray Computed Tomography; animal tissue; base; chronic liver disease; clinical application; design; disease diagnosis; elastography; flexibility; human tissue; imaging modality; improved; in vivo; mathematical algorithm; motion sensitivity; new technology; novel; novel diagnostics; prototype; public health relevance; response; thyroid neoplasm; tool; tumor; volunteer

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Many disease processes are characterized by substantially different mechanical properties than surrounding normal tissue. This accounts for the efficacy of palpation as a clinical technique to detect cancer and other abnormalities. Indeed, many tumors of the thyroid, breast, and prostate are still first detected by this centuries- old diagnostic technique. Unfortunately, palpation is a subjective technique and small or inaccessible abnormalities cannot be detected by touch. Conventional imaging methods such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) do not provide information that is in any way analogous. The goal of this research is to develop, validate, explore and identify high-impact applications of a new diagnostic imaging technology for quantitatively assessing the mechanical properties of tissues. We call this technique Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE). Mechanical waves are generated in tissue and a remarkably sensitive phase-contrast MRI technique, using synchronous motion-sensitizing gradients, is used to directly image the pattern of wave propagation. Specially-developed mathematical algorithms are used to analyze the wave images and to generate quantitative images depicting the stiffness and other mechanical properties of tissue. At the onset of this research, the central hypothesis was that MRE can be successfully implemented as a practical scientific and clinical tool and that it would be useful for detecting and characterizing focal and diffuse disease processes that may be difficult to investigate by other methods. The research in the last cycle of this grant has confirmed this hypothesis by developing, validating, and introducing into clinical research an MRE- based technique for diagnosing chronic liver disease. The research has indicated that in this role, MRE is a more-comfortable, safer, less-expensive alternative to biopsy. The research plan for the next grant cycle includes investigations to further understand and develop the underlying technology of MRE, to develop practical methods for applying other applications, and to explore promising new applications in diagnosing disease. The research plan involves theoretical work, basic MRI pulse sequence development, device engineering, studies of animal and human tissue specimens, and protocol testing studies with normal and patient volunteers. Further progress is expected to provide an increasingly useful imaging tool with capabilities to: (1) noninvasively "palpate by imaging" regions of the body that are beyond the reach of the physician's hand, (2) delineate tumors and other abnormalities before they are severe enough to detect by touch, (3) provide greater sensitivity for assessing changes in tissue mechanical properties, and (4) provide useful new quantitative imaging biomarkers for characterizing tissue properties.

描述（由申请人提供）：许多疾病过程的特征在于与周围正常组织显着不同的机械特性。这解释了触诊作为检测癌症和其他异常的临床技术的功效。事实上，许多甲状腺、乳腺癌和前列腺肿瘤仍然是通过这种具有数百年历史的诊断技术首先检测到的。不幸的是，触诊是一种主观技术，小的或难以接近的异常无法通过触摸来检测。超声波、计算机断层扫描 (CT) 和磁共振成像 (MRI) 等传统成像方法无法提供任何类似的信息。这项研究的目标是开发、验证、探索和识别一种新的诊断成像技术的高影响力应用，以定量评估组织的机械性能。我们将此技术称为磁共振弹性成像 (MRE)。机械波在组织中产生，并且使用同步运动敏化梯度的非常灵敏的相位对比 MRI 技术来直接对波传播模式进行成像。专门开发的数学算法用于分析波图像并生成描绘组织的刚度和其他机械特性的定量图像。这项研究开始时的中心假设是，MRE 可以作为一种实用的科学和临床工具成功实施，并且可用于检测和表征局灶性和弥漫性疾病过程，而这些过程可能难以通过其他方法进行研究。本资助最后一个周期的研究通过开发、验证基于 MRE 的慢性肝病诊断技术并将其引入临床研究，证实了这一假设。研究表明，在这方面，MRE 是比活检更舒适、更安全、更便宜的替代方案。下一个资助周期的研究计划包括进一步了解和开发MRE的基础技术、开发应用其他应用的实用方法以及探索在诊断疾病方面有希望的新应用的调查。该研究计划涉及理论工作、基本 MRI 脉冲序列开发、设备工程、动物和人体组织标本研究以及正常和患者志愿者的协议测试研究。进一步的进展预计将提供一种越来越有用的成像工具，具有以下功能：（1）无创地“通过成像触诊”医生无法触及的身体区域，（2）在肿瘤和其他异常严重之前勾画出它们的轮廓足以通过触摸进行检测，（3）为评估组织机械特性的变化提供更高的灵敏度，（4）为表征组织特性提供有用的新定量成像生物标志物。