基于双带宽高斯滤波器的磁共振弹性图局域频率估算算法研究与实现

本文对生物体软组织的生物力学模型进行了分析推导和简化,得到了磁共振相位图与生物组织弹性之间的力学关系,根据该关系研究了局域频率估算算法,应用Matlab对算法进行了编程实现,体模弹性图的实现验证了算法有效性,为后续开展临床肝纤维化分级研究奠定基础. 关键词： 磁共振弹性成像 弹性生物力学模型 局域频率估算     

基于核磁共振弹性成像技术的肝纤维化分级体模研究

肝纤维化程度以及纤维化速率的精确判断对于相应治疗手术的选择以及治疗预后评估都是至关重要的.临床上需要发展一种非侵入性的肝纤维化定量检查手段.核磁共振弹性成像技术成为实现肝纤维化分级研究的最具发展前景的技术之一.我们研制开发了可用于进行肝纤维化分级研究的实验平台,并讨论了激励装置和位移相位成像序列的技术细节,最后给出了体模的初步实验结果并对结果进行了分析.为后续体模深入研究和临床应用实验奠定基础.     

利用k-Wave计算超声在腹壁组织的声辐射力*

随着科学技术的发展,声辐射力在生物医学领域得到了更为广泛的应用,尤其是在弹性成像领域。为了使弹性成像技术更加精准,对声辐射力的预测至关重要。该文基于腹壁组织图像,利用k-Wave对超声波在腹壁组织区域传播时的声场进行数值模拟,获得了其声场分布,进而求得了组织中声辐射力分布情况,同时对面阵换能器的阵元宽度、间距、阵元个数以及工作频率等参量对声辐射力的影响进行了计算与分析。结果表明,腹壁组织的声场分布受其非均匀性的影响,声辐射力的分布情况依赖于换能器参量的选择。该研究为声辐射力在弹性成像技术中的应用奠定了基础,为其技术的改进提供了重要依据。     

磁纳米粒子介导的靶向剪切波弹性成像*

组织力学特性与其生理病理变化过程密切相关。因此,对组织力学特性的分析有望为疾病诊断提供重要依据。超声弹性成像可以定量分析组织的剪切模量,但在检测的特异性和灵敏度等方面仍存在局限性。针对这一问题,该文发展一种磁纳米粒子介导的靶向剪切波弹性成像新方法。该方法是基于磁纳米粒子在脉冲磁场作用下产生磁致振动,从而导致周围组织的剪切波传播,通过超声探测粒子振动及剪切波传播即可获得磁纳米粒子的分布及周围组织的弹性信息。基于该方法,该文在仿体水平实现对直径约3 mm的磁纳米粒子标记区域的振动检测及其周围组织的弹性信息获取。该研究有望为疾病的精准诊断提供新的思路。     

灵长类中风模型的磁共振成像(英文)

灵长类大脑在结构、生理、功能及神经学上与人类大脑非常相似.因此,灵长类中风模型为研究大脑缺血的损伤机制和开发各种药物治疗方法提供了理想的动物模型.该文介绍了近年来使用的各种灵长类中风模型,并总结了目前可用于该模型的各种磁共振成像(MRI)方法.同时,还讨论了灵长类动物高分辩弥散张量成像(DTI)和磁共振灌注成像(PWI)的数据采集方法和心跳及呼吸引起的生理运动伪影的矫正方法.这些方法改进了弥散一灌注失配(DWI-PWI MISMATCH)成像的精度和质量,有助于提高对脑缺血半暗带演化及其对药物治疗反应的精确评估,为更好地利用灵长类脑中风模型和当代磁共振成像技术进行中风机制研究和药物开发建立一个理想的研究平台.     

基于非均匀螺旋线数据和布雷格曼迭代的快速磁共振成像方法

数据采集时间长是制约磁共振成像技术发展的重要瓶颈.为了解决这一问题, 本文基于压缩感知成像理论, 提出了一种结合非均匀螺旋线磁共振数据采集序列和布雷格曼迭代重建的快速磁共振成像方法, 通过欠采样缩短数据采集时间.欠采样引起混迭伪影则通过非均匀螺旋线欠采样特性和布雷格曼迭代重建去除.水模磁共振成像实验和在体磁共振成像实验结果表明: 欠采样情况下, 所提出的方法能有效去除欠采样导致的混迭伪影, 获得的图像结构信息完整的成像结果, 在缩短采样时间的同时, 具有较高的准确度. 关键词： 磁共振成像 非均匀螺旋线 全变分 布雷格曼迭代     

铀的弹性、能带结构和光学常数的第一性原理计算

采用密度泛函理论,赝势平面波方法计算了金属铀a相的晶体结构,弹性常数,体模量,电子能带结构和光学常数(折射率n和消光系数k)等.其中,铀的晶格参数,弹性常数和体模量等与实验及其它第一性原理计算结果十分吻合.计算得到了铀的光学常数,与实验结果作了对比并进行了分析说明.     

最新科技动态

磁共振成像研究大脑德国科学家利用全脑部磁共振成像技术观测杂技演员训练导致的可塑性时发现 ,他们的大脑会随着学会复杂技巧的过程而有短暂的结构变化 ,这种大脑宏观结构随外界刺激的变化而变的现象推翻了传统肌肤弹性只与功能有关而与结构无关的观点 .Nature 2 0 0 4 .1.2 2     

超极化~(129)Xe磁共振波谱和成像及在生物医学中的应用

文章简要介绍了磁共振波谱和成像的基本原理和对限制其灵敏度的挑战,详细阐述了为增强磁共振信号而制备超极化129Xe的物理机制,论述了129Xe在生物组织中的溶解性以及化学位移的特异性,综述了当前超极化129Xe在肺部、脑部成像领域的研究进展和在临床方面应用所取得的有代表性的研究成果,并讨论了基于超极化129Xe分子生物探针的超灵敏磁共振技术的研究前景,最后对超极化129Xe在生物医学领域的应用与发展作了展望.     

基于聚焦光声层析技术的甲状腺离体组织成像

对人体甲状腺内的病变组织进行定位和成像对于准确诊断和有效治疗甲状腺疾病是至关重要的. 本文评估了利用光声层析技术对离体甲状腺组织进行成像的可行性, 并利用基于30 MHz超声换能器的聚焦光声成像系统对甲状腺进行扫描成像. 实验中成像系统的横向分辨率和纵向分辨率分别达到了350 μupm和74 μupm. 分别对正常离体甲状腺组织和模拟病变甲状腺组织进行光声成像. 实验结果表明, 本成像系统能够有效区分和鉴别正常甲状腺组织和病变组织. 此项技术有望进一步提高甲状腺疾病诊断的准确率, 以便更为有效地指导疾病的治疗, 具有潜在的临床应用前景.     

Static and dynamic liver stiffness: An ex vivo porcine liver study using MR elastography

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is an MRI-based noninvasive technique for quantitatively assessing tissue stiffness. The hypothesis of this study is that stiffness increases with portal pressure. We further hypothesized that the rate of stiffness change with pressure would be larger in liver tissue treated to simulate the stiffening effects of fibrosis. In agreement with our hypothesis, the formalin-treated livers were stiffer than the untreated livers, and in both groups the liver stiffness increased with portal venous pressure. The rate of stiffness change with portal pressure was significantly greater after formalin treatment. In this study, we have developed an ex vivo liver model incorporating portal venous pressure variations and observed significant changes in liver stiffness due to portal pressure. This model could be useful for understanding and investigating the changes in the static and dynamic components of liver stiffness.     

Convertible pneumatic actuator for magnetic resonance elastography of the brain

Here we present a novel pneumatic actuator design for brain magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). Magnetic resonance elastography is a phase contrast technique capable of tracing strain wave propagation and utilizing this information for the calculation of mechanical properties of materials and living tissues. In MRE experiments, the acoustic waves are generated in a synchronized way with respect to image acquisition, using various types of mechanical actuators. The unique feature of the design is its simplicity and flexibility, which allows reconfiguration of the actuator for different applications ranging from in vivo brain MRE to experiments with phantoms. Phantom and in vivo data are presented to demonstrate actuator performance.     

Rapid acquisition technique for MR elastography of the liver

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) of the liver is a novel noninvasive clinical diagnostic tool to stage fibrosis based on measured stiffness. The purpose of this study is to design, evaluate and validate a rapid MRE acquisition technique for noninvasively quantitating liver stiffness which reduces by half the scan time, thereby decreasing image registration errors between four MRE phase offsets. In vivo liver MRE was performed on 16 healthy volunteers and 14 patients with biopsy-proven liver fibrosis using the standard clinical gradient recalled echo (GRE) MRE sequence (MREs) and a developed rapid GRE MRE sequence (MREr) to obtain the mean stiffness in an axial slice. The mean stiffness values obtained from the entire group using MREs and MREr were 2.72 ± 0.85 kPa and 2.7 ± 0.85 kPa, respectively, representing an insignificant difference. A linear correlation of R² = 0.99 was determined between stiffness values obtained using MREs and MREr. Therefore, we can conclude that MREr can replace MREs, which reduces the scan time to half of that of the current standard acquisition (MREs), which will facilitate MRE imaging in patients with inability to hold their breath for long periods.     

Assessment of stiffness changes in the ex vivo porcine aortic wall using magnetic resonance elastography

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive phase-contrast technique for estimating the mechanical properties of tissues by imaging propagating mechanical waves within the tissue. In this study, we hypothesize that changes in arterial wall stiffness, experimentally induced by formalin fixation, can be measured using MRE in ex vivo porcine aortas. In agreement with our hypothesis, the significant stiffness increase after sample fixation was clearly demonstrated by MRE and confirmed by mechanical testing. The results indicate that MRE can be used to examine the stiffness changes of the aorta. This study has provided evidence of the effectiveness of using MRE to directly assess the stiffness change in aortic wall. The results offer motivation to pursue MRE as a noninvasive method for the evaluation of arterial wall mechanical properties.     

Modeling shear modulus distribution in magnetic resonance elastography with piecewise constant level sets

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is designed for imaging the mechanical properties of soft tissues. However, the interpretation of shear modulus distribution is often confusing and cumbersome. For reliable evaluation, a common practice is to specify the regions of interest and consider regional elasticity. Such an experience-dependent protocol is susceptible to intrapersonal and interpersonal variability. In this study we propose to remodel shear modulus distribution with piecewise constant level sets by referring to the corresponding magnitude image. Optimal segmentation and registration are achieved by a new hybrid level set model comprised of alternating global and local region competitions. Experimental results on the simulated MRE data sets show that the mean error of elasticity reconstruction is 11.33% for local frequency estimation and 18.87% for algebraic inversion of differential equation. Piecewise constant level set modeling is effective to improve the quality of shear modulus distribution, and facilitates MRE analysis and interpretation.     

Ferrimagnetic resonance spectra of magnetic bubble films at low microwave frequencies

Magnetic bubble films exhibit a number of ferrimagnetic resonance modes due to the spatial variation of the anisotropy. The resonance frequencies have been measured as a function of the applied bias fieldH ₀. In the lower field range the magnetization of the transient layer, which has negative anisotropy, is not yet parallel toH ₀. In this range the resonance frequencies are shifted to higher values due to pinning effects. In films grown by the vertical dipping method an additional layer on top of the transient layer is observed within which the magnetization rotates from the direction in the transient layer to that of the bulk of the film. In films grown by horizontal dipping no such layer could be detected. Each ferrimagnetic resonance mode excites transverse elastic waves in the film due to the magnetoelastic interaction and thus gives rise to elastic resonances of the whole crystal, film and substrate. These elastic resonances lead to a fine-structure of the ferrimagnetic resonances. The observed fine-structure vanishes periodically with frequency and from this behaviour the thickness of the magnetic film and of the transient layer has been determined.     

The role of the coupling term in transient elastography

The transient radiation of low-frequency elastic waves through isotropic and homogeneous soft media is investigated using the Green's function approach. A careful analysis of the coupling term is performed and yields the introduction of a very near field region in which its amplitude behaves as 1/r. To address the calculation of impulse responses, a simplified Green's function is proposed for semi-infinite media and compared to exact solutions. Impulse response calculations are successfully compared with experimental measurements obtained for circular radiators of different diameters using transient elastography. Results presented in this paper provide a better understanding of the role of the coupling term in elastography and should be used to compensate diffraction and coupling effects observed in transient elastography.     

Magnetic resonance elastography of the brain in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease: initial results

The increasing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has provided motivation for developing novel methods for assessing the disease and the effects of potential treatments. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is an MRI-based method for quantitatively imaging the shear tissue stiffness in vivo. The objective of this research was to determine whether this new imaging biomarker has potential for characterizing neurodegenerative disease. Methods were developed and tested for applying MRE to evaluate the mouse brain, using a conventional large bore 3.0T MRI system. The technique was then applied to study APP-PS1 mice, a well-characterized model of AD. Five APP-PS1 mice and 8 age-matched wild-type mice were imaged immediately following sacrifice. Brain shear stiffness measurements in APP-PS1 mice averaged 22.5% lower than those for wild-type mice (P = .0031). The results indicate that mouse brain MRE is feasible at 3.0T, and brain shear stiffness has merit for further investigation as a potential new biomarker for Alzheimer's disease.     

Diffraction-biased shear wave fields generated with longitudinal magnetic resonance elastography drivers

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a technique for quantifying the acoustic response of biological tissues to propagating waves applied at low frequencies in order to evaluate mechanical properties. Application-specific MRE drivers are typically required to effectively deliver shear waves within the tissue of interest. Surface MRE drivers with transversely oriented vibrations have often been used to directly generate shear waves. These drivers may have disadvantages in certain applications, such as poor penetration depth and inflexible orientation. Therefore, surface MRE drivers with longitudinally oriented vibrations are used in some situations. The purpose of this work was to investigate and optimize a longitudinal driver system for MRE applications. A cone-like hemispherical distribution of shear waves being generated by these drivers and the wave propagation being governed by diffraction in the near field are shown. Using MRE visualization of the vector displacement field, we studied the properties of the shear wave field created by longitudinal MRE drivers of various sizes to identify optimum shear wave imaging planes. The results offer insights and improvements in both experimental design and imaging plane selection for 2-D MRE data acquisition.