Methods for portable magnetic resonance elastometry

Motivation: Magnetic resonance elastography can provided quantitative assessment of tissue mechanical properties, but requires large, expensive, in demand clinical MRI scanners, this motivates a more accessible portable MR technique. Goal(s): To develop robust experimental protocols for bulk assessment of tissue mechanical properties using portable magnetic resonance and explore clinical applications. Approach: Effects of phase interference on the MR signal magnitude and phase are investigated to characterize the shear wave velocity for samples with differing mechanical properties under harmonic and transient excitation. Results: Preliminary measurements show that a portable MR instrument can be used to quantify the shear wave velocity in homogeneous samples. Impact: These results show the potential of a portable magnetic resonance instrument for quantification of shear mechanical properties in biological tissues. This merits further investigation of applications to the diagnosis of specific diseases which could potentially improve patient outcomes.