Magnetic Resonance Elastography

Research

Mayo Clinic is actively involved in research that aims to improve and develop high-quality imaging techniques. Investigators at Mayo Clinic began magnetic resonance elastography research in the late 1990s and have used it for diagnosing liver disease. Magnetic resonance elastography shows promise for use in a variety of fields. For example, surgery simulation programs that train surgeons virtually would be greatly improved if the consistency of various tissues was known. The Magnetic Resonance Lab at Mayo Clinic is exploring the following elastography projects:

Breast Cancer — A preliminary study demonstrating the feasibility of detecting breast cancer with elastography was published in 2002. Researchers are working on distinguishing benign from cancerous tumors by improving the specificity of the technique.

Brain Injury — Gently moving the head produces mechanical waves that propagate through the brain. Mayo researchers developed a technique to produce the first images that show stiffness of the brain. This technique has application in diagnosing head injury and in designing helmets and protective devices in automobiles.

Alzheimer's Disease — Mayo researchers hypothesize that accumulation of beta amyloid plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease causes increased stiffness. They hope to develop elastography techniques that can detect Alzheimer's disease at an early stage.

Musculoskeletal Disease — The Biomechanics and Motion Analysis Lab uses MRE to measure the stiffness of muscle to noninvasively study the tension of muscle in normal and disease states.

Mayo Clinic Publications

See a list of publications by Mayo doctors on magnetic resonance elastography on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.