Neuro MRE (I): High resolution mechanical imaging of elasticity, viscosity and pressure in the human brain
Final Report Abstract
Brain parenchymal viscoelasticity and intracranial pressure are important mechanical parameters that influence cerebral blood flow and ion transport by water diffusion, and thus may affect the structural and functional integrity of neurons and glial cells. Standard imaging-based markers of neurological disorders are limited in their ability to quantify subtle structural changes in neural tissue, such as those induced by neuroinflammatory processes in multiple sclerosis (MS) or its treatment. The project Neuro-MRE (I) aimed to develop magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) techniques for mapping local biophysical properties of brain tissue on a pixel scale, taking into account the effects of hydration, blood flow and activity on the viscoelastic properties of the brain. With a special focus on neuroinflammation, MRE methods have been developed that for the first time allow the investigation of multiscale viscoelastic properties of the brain from small animal models to patients under a wide range of influencing conditions from respiration to hypoxia and with high spatio-temporal resolution. Follow-up studies in healthy volunteers and MS patients demonstrated the excellent reproducibility of the novel multifrequency brain MRE, termed tomoelastography, in detecting subtle brain tissue changes due to physiological aging or MS. High-resolution tomoelastography demonstrated for the first time the mechanical involvement of cortical gray matter in MS and suggested a way to exploit this sensitivity of viscoelastic properties as a novel imaging marker for monitoring MS in patients under treatment. Ongoing studies based on the technical developments of tomoelastography and the findings of the Neuro-MRE (I) project phase suggest that brain viscoelasticity is a highly reproducible and quantitative imaging marker that provides a wealth of information and can lead to better diagnosis and therapeutic decisions in MS.
Publications
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Biomechanical properties of the hypoxic and dying brain quantified by magnetic resonance elastography. Acta Biomaterialia, 101, 395-402.
Bertalan, Gergely; Klein, Charlotte; Schreyer, Stefanie; Steiner, Barbara; Kreft, Bernhard; Tzschätzsch, Heiko; de Schellenberger, Angela Ariza; Nieminen-Kelhä, Melina; Braun, Jürgen; Guo, Jing & Sack, Ingolf
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Separation of fluid and solid shear wave fields and quantification of coupling density by magnetic resonance poroelastography. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 85(3), 1655-1668.
Lilaj, Ledia; Fischer, Thomas; Guo, Jing; Braun, Jürgen; Sack, Ingolf & Hirsch, Sebastian
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Microscopic multifrequency MR elastography for mapping viscoelasticity in zebrafish. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 87(3), 1435-1445.
Jordan, Jakob Ernst Luis; Bertalan, Gergely; Meyer, Tom; Tzschätzsch, Heiko; Gauert, Anton; Bramè, Luca; Herthum, Helge; Safraou, Yasmine; Schröder, Leif; Braun, Jürgen; Hagemann, Anja I. H. & Sack, Ingolf
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Real-Time Multifrequency MR Elastography of the Human Brain Reveals Rapid Changes in Viscoelasticity in Response to the Valsalva Maneuver. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 9.
Herthum, Helge; Shahryari, Mehrgan; Tzschätzsch, Heiko; Schrank, Felix; Warmuth, Carsten; Görner, Steffen; Hetzer, Stefan; Neubauer, Hennes; Pfeuffer, Josef; Braun, Jürgen & Sack, Ingolf
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Superviscous properties of the in vivo brain at large scales. Acta Biomaterialia, 121, 393-404.
Herthum, Helge; Dempsey, Sergio C. H.; Samani, Abbas; Schrank, Felix; Shahryari, Mehrgan; Warmuth, Carsten; Tzschätzsch, Heiko; Braun, Jürgen & Sack, Ingolf
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Whole tissue and single cell mechanics are correlated in human brain tumors. Soft Matter, 17(47), 10744-10752.
Sauer, Frank; Fritsch, Anatol; Grosser, Steffen; Pawlizak, Steve; Kießling, Tobias; Reiss-Zimmermann, Martin; Shahryari, Mehrgan; Müller, Wolf C.; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Käs, Josef A. & Sack, Ingolf
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Cerebral tomoelastography based on multifrequency MR elastography in two and three dimensions. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 10.
Herthum, Helge; Hetzer, Stefan; Kreft, Bernhard; Tzschätzsch, Heiko; Shahryari, Mehrgan; Meyer, Tom; Görner, Steffen; Neubauer, Hennes; Guo, Jing; Braun, Jürgen & Sack, Ingolf
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In vivo stiffness of multiple sclerosis lesions is similar to that of normal-appearing white matter. Acta Biomaterialia, 138, 410-421.
Herthum, Helge; Hetzer, Stefan; Scheel, Michael; Shahryari, Mehrgan; Braun, Jürgen; Paul, Friedemann & Sack, Ingolf
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Mechanical properties of murine hippocampal subregions investigated by atomic force microscopy and in vivo magnetic resonance elastography. Scientific Reports, 12(1).
Morr, Anna S.; Nowicki, Marcin; Bertalan, Gergely; Vieira, Silva Rafaela; Infante, Duarte Carmen; Koch, Stefan Paul; Boehm-Sturm, Philipp; Krügel, Ute; Braun, Jürgen; Steiner, Barbara; Käs, Josef A.; Fuhs, Thomas & Sack, Ingolf
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Multiple motion encoding in phase-contrast MRI: A general theory and application to elastography imaging. Medical Image Analysis, 78, 102416.
Herthum, Helge; Carrillo, Hugo; Osses, Axel; Uribe, Sergio; Sack, Ingolf & Bertoglio, Cristóbal
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Cortical matrix remodeling as a hallmark of relapsing–remitting neuroinflammation in MR elastography and quantitative MRI. Acta Neuropathologica, 147(1).
Silva, Rafaela V.; Morr, Anna S.; Herthum, Helge; Koch, Stefan P.; Mueller, Susanne; Batzdorf, Clara S.; Bertalan, Gergely; Meyer, Tom; Tzschätzsch, Heiko; Kühl, Anja A.; Boehm-Sturm, Philipp; Braun, Jürgen; Scheel, Michael; Paul, Friedemann; Infante-Duarte, Carmen & Sack, Ingolf
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The Networking Brain: How Extracellular Matrix, Cellular Networks, and Vasculature Shape the In Vivo Mechanical Properties of the Brain. Advanced Science, 11(31).
Bergs, Judith; Morr, Anna S.; Silva, Rafaela V.; Infante‐Duarte, Carmen & Sack, Ingolf
