Feasibility of Brain MR-Elastography at 1.5 T with a Novel Wave Generator: An Animal Study

Najat Salameh¹, Line Souris¹, Mathieu Sarracanie¹, Ludovic de Rochefort¹, Ralph Sinkus², Luc Darrasse¹, Xavier Matre¹

Protected by the meninges and the skull, the brain is a challenging organ for Magnetic Resonance Elastography. The challenge persists in rodents despite the smaller dimensions since waves with higher frequencies and lower penetration depth must be accordingly applied to resolve the animal brain structures. In the present study, a new excitation mode, where pressure waves are directly guided into the animal mouth, is proposed. Proof of concept and optimization of the technique were carried out onto gel phantoms at 1.5 T. In vivo rat brain MRE was then performed.