Kevin Mattheus Moerman1,2, Andre M. J.
Sprengers2, Ciaran Knut Simms1, Anneloes E. Bohte2,
Rolf M. Lamerichs3, Ralph Sinkus4, Aart J. Nederveen2
1Trinity Centre for
Bioengineering, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland; 2Radiology
Department, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands; 3Philips
Research, Eindhoven, Netherlands; 4Radiology Department, CRB3,
Hpital Beaujon (U773), INSERM, Clichy, France
The MRI based non-invasive analysis of soft tissue mechanical properties has been the focus of many fields of research. MR Elastography (MRE) allows for the estimation of shear elasticity and viscosity properties and has been shown to be beneficial in the study of liver fibrosis and breast lesions. However, this technique has mainly been limited to microscopic strain levels. Using indentation of a silicone gel soft tissue phantom the current study presents the combination of a fast SPAMM tagged MRI sequence and MRE for the analysis of the large strain mechanical behavior of soft tissue.