Abstract #5121

MRE derived stiffness of the gluteus maximus muscle: reproducibility and correlation to T2 and fat-fraction

Jules L. Nelissen^1,2, Dorien Verschuren¹, Larry de Graaf¹, Cees W. J. Oomens³, Klaas Nicolay¹, Ralph Sinkus⁴, Jurgen H. Runge^4,5, Aart J. Nederveen⁵, and Gustav J. Strijkers²

¹Biomedical NMR, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands, ²Preclinical and Translational MRI, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, ³Biomechanics of Soft Tissues, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands, ⁴Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁵Radiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Skeletal muscle pathology is often accompanied by abnormal fat deposition, fibrosis, and edema. Altered muscle biomechanical properties associated with these compositional changes can be quantitatively assessed with MRE. We present MRE measurements of the gluteus maximus muscle. In healthy volunteers, we have tested reproducibility and correlated the shear modulus G_d to T₂ and fat-fraction FF_dix measured using Dixon. Acceptable intra and inter reproducibility was found. Expected difference in G_d between gluteus maximus and subcutaneous fat was confirmed. Correlation plots of T₂ and FF_dix with G_d showed that MRE can derive biomechanical properties that potentially can provide additional information to characterize skeletal muscle pathology.

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