UCLA researchers in the Department of Radiology have developed an MRI technique capable of capturing high temporal and spatial resolution of tissue displacement as a biomarker for several underlying diseases.
BACKGROUND: Recent research efforts have shed light on the effect that various diseases can have on tissue displacement and parameters on tissue like strain, twist, or torsion. The identification of these underlying effects in muscle tissue, can lead to the early identification of disease: posing a potential biomarker for numerous diseases. Non-invasive imaging techniques like Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may serve as the best option to monitor changes to muscle tissue, due to its ability to code for quantitative imaging of tissue motion with techniques like Displacement Encoding with Stimulated Echoes (DENSE). MRI using DENSE, can generate displacement maps that give quantitative measures of tissue strain on a collected image. While this technique offers high spatial resolution, its ability to retain temporal resolution is significantly limited. It is however imperative to utilize techniques that have high temporal resolution so that subtle displacement changes in time can be detected. Therefore, the development of an MRI technique that can be coupled with DENSE, may help to solve the trade off-of spatial to temporal resolution, and allow MRI to capture even greater quantitative information of tissue displacement as an identifying characteristic to several diseases.
INNOVATION: UCLA researchers in the Department of Radiology have developed an MRI technique capable of capturing high temporal and spatial resolution of tissue displacement as a biomarker for several underlying diseases. The researchers coupled DENSE to a technique called hybrid one and two-sided flow-encoding and velocity spectrum separation (HOTSPA); allowing for imaging of accelerated blood flow and velocity measurements. The use of HOTSPA allows the quantitative measurement of blood flow to a tissue region of interest, a known underlying effect to tissue strain. The combination of DENSE and HOTSPA allow for more accurate quantitative time-resolved assessment of tissue displacement and tissue biomarker parameters (i.e. strain), which researchers have focused on the brain: however, its use can be extended to other potential applications. Researchers have further simplified the new technique by constraining quantitative measurements of collected images to a single direction, allowing for quick derivation. The combination of DENSE and HOTSPA may propel the use of MRI to identify tissue displacement as an early identification of several underlying diseases.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
• Acquisition of time resolved MRI data with improved temporal resolution for the identification of tissue displacement and motion (e.g. brain motion)
• Acquisition of improved temporal resolution MRI data for the identification of biomarker parameters (i.e. strain) of tissue (e.g. multi-cardiac phase data acquisition)
• The combinatorial use of HOTSPA to DENSE, allows for the shifted acquisition of frames of muscle tissue with minimal time penalties but a doubling of temporal resolution
ADVANTAGES:
• Increased temporal and spatial resolution as comparative to previous
• The first in use process of HOTSPA and cine DENSE for tissue biomarker or displacement quantitation
• Implementation of data using this technique can be applied to pre-existing MRI setups, allowing for streamlined implementation of the technique
DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:
The combined use of cine DENSE and HOTSPA has been applied to cardiac imaging, allowing for the development of a tissue displacement map with high spatial and temporal resolution.
RELATED PAPERS:
• Pahlavian SH, Oshinski J, Zhong X, Loth F, Amini R. Regional quantification of brain tissue strain using displacement-encoding with stimulated echoes magnetic resonance imaging. J Biomech Eng 2018;140(8).
• Saindane AM, Qiu D, Oshinski JN, Newman NJ, Biousse V, Bruce BB, Holbrook JF, Dale BM, Zhong X. Noninvasive assessment of intracranial pressure status in idiopathic intracranial hypertension using displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) MRI: A prospective patient study with contemporaneous CSF pressure Correlation. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2018;39:311-316.