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Bergs J, Morr AS, Silva RV, Infante‐Duarte C, Sack I. The Networking Brain: How Extracellular Matrix, Cellular Networks, and Vasculature Shape the In Vivo Mechanical Properties of the Brain. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2402338. [PMID: 38874205 PMCID: PMC11336943 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202402338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
Mechanically, the brain is characterized by both solid and fluid properties. The resulting unique material behavior fosters proliferation, differentiation, and repair of cellular and vascular networks, and optimally protects them from damaging shear forces. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive imaging technique that maps the mechanical properties of the brain in vivo. MRE studies have shown that abnormal processes such as neuronal degeneration, demyelination, inflammation, and vascular leakage lead to tissue softening. In contrast, neuronal proliferation, cellular network formation, and higher vascular pressure result in brain stiffening. In addition, brain viscosity has been reported to change with normal blood perfusion variability and brain maturation as well as disease conditions such as tumor invasion. In this article, the contributions of the neuronal, glial, extracellular, and vascular networks are discussed to the coarse-grained parameters determined by MRE. This reductionist multi-network model of brain mechanics helps to explain many MRE observations in terms of microanatomical changes and suggests that cerebral viscoelasticity is a suitable imaging marker for brain disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Bergs
- Department of RadiologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinCharitéplatz 110117BerlinGermany
| | - Anna S. Morr
- Department of RadiologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinCharitéplatz 110117BerlinGermany
| | - Rafaela V. Silva
- Experimental and Clinical Research Centera cooperation between the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinLindenberger Weg 8013125BerlinGermany
- Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinECRC Experimental and Clinical Research CenterCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinCharitéplatz 110117BerlinGermany
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC)Robert‐Rössle‐Straße 1013125BerlinGermany
| | - Carmen Infante‐Duarte
- Experimental and Clinical Research Centera cooperation between the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinLindenberger Weg 8013125BerlinGermany
- Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinECRC Experimental and Clinical Research CenterCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinCharitéplatz 110117BerlinGermany
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC)Robert‐Rössle‐Straße 1013125BerlinGermany
| | - Ingolf Sack
- Department of RadiologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinCharitéplatz 110117BerlinGermany
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Li B, Zhao A, Tian T, Yang X. Mechanobiological insight into brain diseases based on mechanosensitive channels: Common mechanisms and clinical potential. CNS Neurosci Ther 2024; 30:e14809. [PMID: 38923822 PMCID: PMC11197048 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As physical signals, mechanical cues regulate the neural cells in the brain. The mechanosensitive channels (MSCs) perceive the mechanical cues and transduce them by permeating specific ions or molecules across the plasma membrane, and finally trigger a series of intracellular bioelectrical and biochemical signals. Emerging evidence supports that wide-distributed, high-expressed MSCs like Piezo1 play important roles in several neurophysiological processes and neurological disorders. AIMS To systematically conclude the functions of MSCs in the brain and provide a novel mechanobiological perspective for brain diseases. METHOD We summarized the mechanical cues and MSCs detected in the brain and the research progress on the functional roles of MSCs in physiological conditions. We then concluded the pathological activation and downstream pathways triggered by MSCs in two categories of brain diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and place-occupying damages. Finally, we outlined the methods for manipulating MSCs and discussed their medical potential with some crucial outstanding issues. RESULTS The MSCs present underlying common mechanisms in different brain diseases by acting as the "transportation hubs" to transduce the distinct signal patterns: the upstream mechanical cues and the downstream intracellular pathways. Manipulating the MSCs is feasible to alter the complicated downstream processes, providing them promising targets for clinical treatment. CONCLUSIONS Recent research on MSCs provides a novel insight into brain diseases. The common mechanisms mediated by MSCs inspire a wide range of therapeutic potentials targeted on MSCs in different brain diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bolong Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced TechnologyChinese Academy of SciencesShenzhenGuangdongChina
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of ScienceBeijingChina
| | - An‐ran Zhao
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced TechnologyChinese Academy of SciencesShenzhenGuangdongChina
- College of Life SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of ScienceBeijingChina
- Faculty of Life and Health SciencesShenzhen University of Advanced TechnologyShenzhenGuangdongChina
| | - Tian Tian
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced TechnologyChinese Academy of SciencesShenzhenGuangdongChina
- Faculty of Life and Health SciencesShenzhen University of Advanced TechnologyShenzhenGuangdongChina
| | - Xin Yang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced TechnologyChinese Academy of SciencesShenzhenGuangdongChina
- Faculty of Life and Health SciencesShenzhen University of Advanced TechnologyShenzhenGuangdongChina
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Burman Ingeberg M, Van Houten E, Zwanenburg JJM. Estimating the viscoelastic properties of the human brain at 7 T MRI using intrinsic MRE and nonlinear inversion. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:6575-6591. [PMID: 37909395 PMCID: PMC10681656 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Intrinsic actuation magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a phase-contrast MRI technique that allows for in vivo quantification of mechanical properties of the brain by exploiting brain motion that arise naturally due to the cardiac pulse. The mechanical properties of the brain reflect its tissue microstructure, making it a potentially valuable parameter in studying brain disease. The main purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of reconstructing the viscoelastic properties of the brain using high-quality 7 T MRI displacement measurements, obtained using displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) and intrinsic actuation. The repeatability and sensitivity of the method for detecting normal regional variation in brain tissue properties was assessed as secondary goal. The displacement measurements used in this analysis were previously acquired for a separate study, where eight healthy subjects (27 ± 7 years) were imaged with repeated scans (spatial resolution approx. 2 mm isotropic, temporal resolution 75 ms, motion sensitivity 0.35 mm/2π for displacements in anterior-posterior and left-right directions, and 0.7 mm/2π for feet-head displacements). The viscoelastic properties of the brain were estimated using a subzone based non-linear inversion scheme. The results show comparable consistency to that of extrinsic MRE between the viscoelastic property maps obtained from repeated displacement measurements. The shear stiffness maps showed fairly consistent spatial patterns. The whole-brain repeatability coefficient (RC) for shear stiffness was (mean ± standard deviation) 8 ± 8% relative to the mean whole-brain stiffness, and the damping ratio RC was 28 ± 17% relative to the whole-brain damping ratio. The shear stiffness maps showed similar statistically significant regional trends as demonstrated in a publicly available atlas of viscoelastic properties obtained with extrinsic actuation MRE at 50 Hz. The damping ratio maps showed less consistency, likely due to data-model mismatch of describing the brain as a viscoelastic material under low frequencies. While artifacts induced by fluid flow within the brain remain a limitation of the technique in its current state, intrinsic actuation based MRE allow for consistent and repeatable estimation of the mechanical properties of the brain. The method provides enough sensitivity to investigate regional variation in such properties in the normal brain, which is likely sufficient to also investigate pathological changes.
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Herthum H, Hetzer S, Kreft B, Tzschätzsch H, Shahryari M, Meyer T, Görner S, Neubauer H, Guo J, Braun J, Sack I. Cerebral tomoelastography based on multifrequency MR elastography in two and three dimensions. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:1056131. [PMID: 36532573 PMCID: PMC9755504 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.1056131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) generates quantitative maps of the mechanical properties of biological soft tissues. However, published values obtained by brain MRE vary largely and lack detail resolution, due to either true biological effects or technical challenges. We here introduce cerebral tomoelastography in two and three dimensions for improved data consistency and detail resolution while considering aging, brain parenchymal fraction (BPF), systolic blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI). Methods: Multifrequency MRE with 2D- and 3D-tomoelastography postprocessing was applied to the brains of 31 volunteers (age range: 22-61 years) for analyzing the coefficient of variation (CV) and effects of biological factors. Eleven volunteers were rescanned after 1 day and 1 year to determine intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and identify possible long-term changes. Results: White matter shear wave speed (SWS) was slightly higher in 2D-MRE (1.28 ± 0.02 m/s) than 3D-MRE (1.22 ± 0.05 m/s, p < 0.0001), with less variation after 1 day in 2D (0.33 ± 0.32%) than in 3D (0.96 ± 0.66%, p = 0.004), which was also reflected in a slightly lower CV and higher ICC in 2D (1.84%, 0.97 [0.88-0.99]) than in 3D (3.89%, 0.95 [0.76-0.99]). Remarkably, 3D-MRE was sensitive to a decrease in white matter SWS within only 1 year, whereas no change in white matter volume was observed during this follow-up period. Across volunteers, stiffness correlated with age and BPF, but not with blood pressure and BMI. Conclusion: Cerebral tomoelastography provides high-resolution viscoelasticity maps with excellent consistency. Brain MRE in 2D shows less variation across volunteers in shorter scan times than 3D-MRE, while 3D-MRE appears to be more sensitive to subtle biological effects such as aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helge Herthum
- Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Hetzer
- Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bernhard Kreft
- Department of Radiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Heiko Tzschätzsch
- Department of Radiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mehrgan Shahryari
- Department of Radiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tom Meyer
- Department of Radiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Steffen Görner
- Department of Radiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hennes Neubauer
- Department of Radiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jing Guo
- Department of Radiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jürgen Braun
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ingolf Sack
- Department of Radiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Li Y, Gao Q, Chen N, Zhang Y, Wang J, Li C, He X, Jiao Y, Zhang Z. Clinical studies of magnetic resonance elastography from 1995 to 2021: Scientometric and visualization analysis based on CiteSpace. Quant Imaging Med Surg 2022; 12:5080-5100. [PMID: 36330182 PMCID: PMC9622435 DOI: 10.21037/qims-22-207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To assess the knowledge framework around magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and to explore MRE research hotspots and emerging trends. METHODS The Science Citation Index Expanded of the Web of Science Core Collection was searched on 22 October 2021 for MRE-related studies published between 1995 and 2021. Excel 2016 and CiteSpace V (version 5.8.R3) were used to analyze the downloaded data. RESULTS In all, 1,236 articles published by 726 authors from 540 institutions in 40 countries were included in this study. The top 10 authors published 57.6% of all included articles. The 3 most productive countries were the USA (n=631), Germany (n=202), and France (n=134), and the 3 most productive institutions were the Mayo Clinic (n=240), Charité (n=131), and the University of Illinois (n=56). The USA and the Mayo Clinic had the highest betweenness centrality among countries and institutions, respectively, and played an important role in the field of MRE. In this study, the 24,347 distinct references were clustered into 48 categories via reasonable clustering using specific keywords, forming the knowledge framework. Among the 294 co-occurring keywords, "hepatic fibrosis", "stiffness", "skeletal muscle", "acoustic strain wave", "in vivo", and "non-invasive assessment" were research hotspots. "Diagnostic performance", "diagnostic accuracy", "hepatic steatosis", "chronic hepatitis B", "radiation force impulse", "children", and "echo" were frontier topics. CONCLUSIONS Scientometric and visualized analysis of MRE can provide information regarding the knowledge framework, research hotspots, frontier areas, and emerging trends in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youwei Li
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Qiang Gao
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Na Chen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanfang Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Juan Wang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chang Li
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xuan He
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Jiao
- Department of Rehabilitation Psychology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zongming Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Beijing Electric Power Hospital, State Grid Corporation of China, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Drew PJ. Neurovascular coupling: motive unknown. Trends Neurosci 2022; 45:809-819. [PMID: 35995628 PMCID: PMC9768528 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
In the brain, increases in neural activity drive changes in local blood flow via neurovascular coupling. The common explanation for increased blood flow (known as functional hyperemia) is that it supplies the metabolic needs of active neurons. However, there is a large body of evidence that is inconsistent with this idea. Baseline blood flow is adequate to supply oxygen needs even with elevated neural activity. Neurovascular coupling is irregular, absent, or inverted in many brain regions, behavioral states, and conditions. Increases in respiration can increase brain oxygenation without flow changes. Simulations show that given the architecture of the brain vasculature, areas of low blood flow are inescapable and cannot be removed by functional hyperemia. As discussed in this article, potential alternative functions of neurovascular coupling include supplying oxygen for neuromodulator synthesis, brain temperature regulation, signaling to neurons, stabilizing and optimizing the cerebral vascular structure, accommodating the non-Newtonian nature of blood, and driving the production and circulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Drew
- Center for Neural Engineering, Departments of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Neurosurgery, Biology, and Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, W-317 Millennium Science Complex, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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Herthum H, Carrillo H, Osses A, Uribe S, Sack I, Bertoglio C. Multiple motion encoding in phase-contrast MRI: A general theory and application to elastography imaging. Med Image Anal 2022; 78:102416. [PMID: 35334444 DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2022.102416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
While MRI allows to encode the motion of tissue in the magnetization's phase, it remains yet a challenge to obtain high fidelity motion images due to wraps in the phase for high encoding efficiencies. Therefore, we propose an optimal multiple motion encoding method (OMME) and exemplify it in Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) data. OMME is formulated as a non-convex least-squares problem for the motion using an arbitrary number of phase-contrast measurements with different motion encoding gradients (MEGs). The mathematical properties of OMME are proved in terms of standard deviation and dynamic range of the motion's estimate for arbitrary MEGs combination which are confirmed using synthetically generated data. OMME's performance is assessed on MRE data from in vivo human brain experiments and compared to dual encoding strategies. The unwrapped images are further used to reconstruct stiffness maps and compared to the ones obtained using conventional unwrapping methods. OMME allowed to successfully combine several MRE phase images with different MEGs, outperforming dual encoding strategies in either motion-to-noise ratio (MNR) or number of successfully reconstructed voxels with good noise stability. This lead to stiffness maps with greater resolution of details than obtained with conventional unwrapping methods. The proposed OMME method allows for a flexible and noise robust increase in the dynamic range and thus provides wrap-free phase images with high MNR. In MRE, the method may be especially suitable when high resolution images with high MNR are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helge Herthum
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universitt zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, 10117, Germany
| | - Hugo Carrillo
- Center for Mathematical Modeling, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, 8370456, Chile; Bernoulli Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9747AG, the Netherlands
| | - Axel Osses
- Center for Mathematical Modeling, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, 8370456, Chile; Department of Mathematical Engineering, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, 8370456, Chile; ANID - Millennium Nucleus in Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Santiago, 7820436, Chile; ANID - Millenium Nucleus in Applied Control and Inverse Problems ACIP, Santiago, 7820436, Chile
| | - Sergio Uribe
- ANID - Millennium Nucleus in Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Santiago, 7820436, Chile; Biomedical Imaging Center, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, 7820436, Chile
| | - Ingolf Sack
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universitt zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, 10117, Germany
| | - Cristóbal Bertoglio
- Bernoulli Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9747AG, the Netherlands.
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Hiscox LV, Schwarb H, McGarry MDJ, Johnson CL. Aging brain mechanics: Progress and promise of magnetic resonance elastography. Neuroimage 2021; 232:117889. [PMID: 33617995 PMCID: PMC8251510 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging techniques that can sensitivity characterize healthy brain aging and detect subtle neuropathologies have enormous potential to assist in the early detection of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) has recently emerged as a reliable, high-resolution, and especially sensitive technique that can noninvasively characterize tissue biomechanical properties (i.e., viscoelasticity) in vivo in the living human brain. Brain tissue viscoelasticity provides a unique biophysical signature of neuroanatomy that are representative of the composition and organization of the complex tissue microstructure. In this article, we detail how progress in brain MRE technology has provided unique insights into healthy brain aging, neurodegeneration, and structure-function relationships. We further discuss additional promising technical innovations that will enhance the specificity and sensitivity for brain MRE to reveal considerably more about brain aging as well as its potentially valuable role as an imaging biomarker of neurodegeneration. MRE sensitivity may be particularly useful for assessing the efficacy of rehabilitation strategies, assisting in differentiating between dementia subtypes, and in understanding the causal mechanisms of disease which may lead to eventual pharmacotherapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy V Hiscox
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, 150 Academy St. Newark, Newark, DE 19716, United States.
| | - Hillary Schwarb
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States; Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
| | | | - Curtis L Johnson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, 150 Academy St. Newark, Newark, DE 19716, United States.
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Herthum H, Shahryari M, Tzschätzsch H, Schrank F, Warmuth C, Görner S, Hetzer S, Neubauer H, Pfeuffer J, Braun J, Sack I. Real-Time Multifrequency MR Elastography of the Human Brain Reveals Rapid Changes in Viscoelasticity in Response to the Valsalva Maneuver. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:666456. [PMID: 34026743 PMCID: PMC8131519 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.666456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Modulation of cerebral blood flow and vascular compliance plays an important role in the regulation of intracranial pressure (ICP) and also influences the viscoelastic properties of brain tissue. Therefore, magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), the gold standard for measuring in vivo viscoelasticity of brain tissue, is potentially sensitive to cerebral autoregulation. In this study, we developed a multifrequency MMRE technique that provides serial maps of viscoelasticity at a frame rate of nearly 6 Hz without gating, i.e., in quasi-real time (rt-MMRE). This novel method was used to monitor rapid changes in the viscoelastic properties of the brains of 17 volunteers performing the Valsalva maneuver (VM). rt-MMRE continuously sampled externally induced vibrations comprising three frequencies of 30.03, 30.91, and 31.8 Hz were over 90 s using a steady-state, spiral-readout gradient-echo sequence. Data were processed by multifrequency dual elasto-visco (MDEV) inversion to generate maps of magnitude shear modulus | G∗| (stiffness) and loss angle φ at a frame rate of 5.4 Hz. As controls, the volunteers were examined to study the effects of breath-hold following deep inspiration and breath-hold following expiration. We observed that | G∗| increased while φ decreased due to VM and, less markedly, due to breath-hold in inspiration. Group mean VM values showed an early overshoot of | G∗| 2.4 ± 1.2 s after the onset of the maneuver with peak values of 6.7 ± 4.1% above baseline, followed by a continuous increase in stiffness during VM. A second overshoot of | G∗| occurred 5.5 ± 2.0 s after the end of VM with peak values of 7.4 ± 2.8% above baseline, followed by 25-s sustained recovery until the end of image acquisition. φ was constantly reduced by approximately 2% during the entire VM without noticeable peak values. This is the first report of viscoelasticity changes in brain tissue induced by physiological maneuvers known to alter ICP and detected by clinically applicable rt-MMRE. Our results show that apnea and VM slightly alter brain properties toward a more rigid-solid behavior. Overshooting stiffening reactions seconds after onset and end of VM reveal rapid autoregulatory processes of brain tissue viscoelasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helge Herthum
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mehrgan Shahryari
- Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Heiko Tzschätzsch
- Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Schrank
- Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Carsten Warmuth
- Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Steffen Görner
- Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Hetzer
- Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging (BCAN), Berlin, Germany
| | - Hennes Neubauer
- Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Josef Pfeuffer
- Application Development, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jürgen Braun
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ingolf Sack
- Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
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Arani A, Manduca A, Ehman RL, Huston Iii J. Harnessing brain waves: a review of brain magnetic resonance elastography for clinicians and scientists entering the field. Br J Radiol 2021; 94:20200265. [PMID: 33605783 PMCID: PMC8011257 DOI: 10.1259/bjr.20200265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is an imaging technique capable of accurately and non-invasively measuring the mechanical properties of the living human brain. Recent studies have shown that MRE has potential to provide clinically useful information in patients with intracranial tumors, demyelinating disease, neurodegenerative disease, elevated intracranial pressure, and altered functional states. The objectives of this review are: (1) to give a general overview of the types of measurements that have been obtained with brain MRE in patient populations, (2) to survey the tools currently being used to make these measurements possible, and (3) to highlight brain MRE-based quantitative biomarkers that have the highest potential of being adopted into clinical use within the next 5 to 10 years. The specifics of MRE methodology strategies are described, from wave generation to material parameter estimations. The potential clinical role of MRE for characterizing and planning surgical resection of intracranial tumors and assessing diffuse changes in brain stiffness resulting from diffuse neurological diseases and altered intracranial pressure are described. In addition, the emerging technique of functional MRE, the role of artificial intelligence in MRE, and promising applications of MRE in general neuroscience research are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arvin Arani
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Armando Manduca
- Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
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Herthum H, Dempsey SCH, Samani A, Schrank F, Shahryari M, Warmuth C, Tzschätzsch H, Braun J, Sack I. Superviscous properties of the in vivo brain at large scales. Acta Biomater 2021; 121:393-404. [PMID: 33326885 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.12.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
There is growing awareness that brain mechanical properties are important for neural development and health. However, published values of brain stiffness differ by orders of magnitude between static measurements and in vivo magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), which covers a dynamic range over several frequency decades. We here show that there is no fundamental disparity between static mechanical tests and in vivo MRE when considering large-scale properties, which encompass the entire brain including fluid filled compartments. Using gradient echo real-time MRE, we investigated the viscoelastic dispersion of the human brain in, so far, unexplored dynamic ranges from intrinsic brain pulsations at 1 Hz to ultralow-frequency vibrations at 5, 6.25, 7.8 and 10 Hz to the normal frequency range of MRE of 40 Hz. Surprisingly, we observed variations in brain stiffness over more than two orders of magnitude, suggesting that the in vivo human brain is superviscous on large scales with very low shear modulus of 42±13 Pa and relatively high viscosity of 6.6±0.3 Pa∙s according to the two-parameter solid model. Our data shed light on the crucial role of fluid compartments including blood vessels and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for whole brain properties and provide, for the first time, an explanation for the variability of the mechanical brain responses to manual palpation, local indentation, and high-dynamic tissue stimulation as used in elastography.
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Sui Y, Arani A, Trzasko JD, Murphy MC, Rossman PJ, Glaser KJ, McGee KP, Manduca A, Ehman RL, Araoz PA, Huston J. TURBINE-MRE: A 3D hybrid radial-Cartesian EPI acquisition for MR elastography. Magn Reson Med 2020; 85:945-952. [PMID: 32738084 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop a novel magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) acquisition using a hybrid radial EPI readout scheme (TURBINE), and to demonstrate its feasibility to obtain wave images and stiffness maps in a phantom and in vivo brain. METHOD The proposed 3D TURBINE-MRE is based on a spoiled gradient-echo MRE sequence with the EPI readout radially rotating about the phase-encoding axis to sample a full 3D k-space. A polyvinyl chloride phantom and 6 volunteers were scanned on a compact 3T GE scanner with a 32-channel head coil at 80 Hz and 60 Hz external vibration, respectively. For comparison, a standard 2D, multislice, spin-echo (SE) EPI-MRE acquisition was also performed with the same motion encoding and resolution. The TURBINE-MRE images were off-line reconstructed with iterative SENSE algorithm. The regional ROI analysis was performed on the 6 volunteers, and the median stiffness values were compared between SE-EPI-MRE and TURBINE-MRE. RESULTS The 3D wave-field images and the generated stiffness maps were comparable between TURBINE-MRE and standard SE-EPI-MRE for the phantom and the volunteers. The Bland-Altman plot showed no significant difference in the median regional stiffness values between the two methods. The stiffness measured with the 2 methods had a strong linear relationship with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.943. CONCLUSION We demonstrated the feasibility of the new TURBINE-MRE sequence for acquiring the desired 3D wave-field data and stiffness maps in a phantom and in-vivo brains. This pilot study encourages further exploration of TURBINE-MRE for functional MRE, free-breathing abdominal MRE, and cardiac MRE applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Sui
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Arvin Arani
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | | | | | | | - Kevin J Glaser
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Kiaran P McGee
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Armando Manduca
- Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Richard L Ehman
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Philip A Araoz
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - John Huston
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
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