Intensity Speckle MR Elastography

Sebastian Papazoglou¹, Sebastian Hirsch¹, Dieter Klatt¹, Kaspar Josche Streitberger¹, Kerstin Riek¹, Thomas Elgeti¹, Jrgen Braun², Ingolf Sack¹

In this study we present a statistical analysis of shear wave intensity speckles in magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). The employed statistical model provides a single fit parameter that is related to characteristic structure-related length scales. Hence, the intensity speckle distribution offers the possibility to investigate the elastic heterogeneity of the brain without solving the ill-posed inverse problem associated with shear wave propagation. Results of speckle intensity MRE experiments on gel phantoms and the brain of a healthy subject demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed statistical analysis.