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Paediatric brain tissue properties measured with magnetic resonance elastography

Jade Yeung1, Lauriane Jugé1,2, Alice Hatt1

  • 1Neuroscience Research Australia, Margarete Ainsworth Building, Barker Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
|May 6, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Brain stiffness in children and adolescents is similar to adults, suggesting adult values can serve as a baseline for paediatric magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) studies.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Biophysics
  • Developmental Neuroscience

Background:

  • Assessing brain tissue properties is crucial for understanding development and disease.
  • Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) offers a non-invasive method to measure tissue stiffness.
  • Limited data exists on paediatric brain stiffness using MRE.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize white and grey matter stiffness in paediatric subjects using MRE.
  • To investigate changes in brain stiffness throughout normal paediatric development.
  • To establish if adult MRE values are applicable to paediatric populations.

Main Methods:

  • MRE was performed on 36 healthy paediatric subjects (7-18 years) and 11 adults (23-44 years) at 3T MRI using three frequencies (30, 40, 60 Hz).
  • Anatomical and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were also acquired.
  • Stiffness (complex shear modulus, G*), fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and volume were calculated and analyzed using ANOVA and correlation tests.

Main Results:

  • White and grey matter stiffness, including frequency dependence, showed no significant differences between paediatric and adult subjects (p > 0.05).
  • No significant correlations were found between stiffness (G*) and age, FA, MD, or volume in paediatric data.
  • Calculated adult G*, FA, MD, and volume values were consistent with existing literature.

Conclusions:

  • Paediatric white and grey matter stiffness, as measured by MRE, is comparable to that of adults.
  • Adult MRE values can be utilized as a baseline reference for paediatric brain MRE studies.
  • This finding supports the clinical applicability of MRE in paediatric neuroimaging.

Keywords:
BrainComplex shear modulusDiffusion tensor imagingMagnetic resonance elastographyPaediatricStiffness

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