Magnetic resonance elastography

Abstract

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is an MRI-based quantitative method for calculating tissue viscoelasticity. MRE was first introduced as a US FDA-cleared product for measuring liver stiffness in 2009. Its main clinical application is staging of hepatic fibrosis for which MRE has been shown to be the most effective method, having an accuracy, reproducibility, and success rate superior to ultrasound elastography and far superior to other methods. Biopsy, which has been a standard for diagnosing hepatic fibrosis for many years, is invasive and prone to variability due to sampling error and subjective interpretation. While originally validated against biopsy, MRE overcomes these disadvantages. As of 2019, it has been adopted by over 1400 institutions across the world. Other applications of MRE are wide-ranging and include stiffness measurements in the breast, liver, brain, muscle, kidneys, and tumors.