Advances in free-breathing 3D cardiac MR elastography via TURBINE-MRE

Motivation: Quantitative myocardial stiffness has considerable value as a clinical and scientific metric, but is difficult to measure. Current imaging strategies require breath-holds, limiting application across patient and volunteer cohorts. Goal(s): To develop a free-breathing MR elastography (MRE) technique enabling whole-heart stiffness estimation across multiple phases of the cardiac cycle. Approach: A 3D TURBINE-MRE acquisition was combined with electrocardiogram and respiratory belt data, retrospective data binning, and iterative reconstruction. Results: Stiffness estimation with whole-heart coverage through 7 cardiac phases was demonstrated with a 10-minute scan in 9 volunteers. Change in left-ventricular stiffness was measured throughout the cardiac cycle. Impact: MRI-derived measures of myocardial mechanical properties have important clinical and scientific applications, but are predominantly measured with breath-held scans and limited geometries, or invasively. This work demonstrates free-breathing elastography of the whole heart, enabling broader application and analysis.