Numerical study of shear wavelength observed in MRE experiments with FEM

Abstract

Magnetic Resonance Elastography(MRE) is a noninvasive imaging technique that measures the mechanical properties of tissues to provide additional information for differentiation of benign and malignant tumors. This process typically involves the application of an external excitation to a tissue and measuring the resulting tissue motion with MRI and converting the motion into a stiffness distribution with a reconstruction algorithm. This paper presents a hypothesis that finite element method(FEM) can be used to solve the hyperbolic partial differential equation which governs shear wave propagation in the soft tissue such as breast. 2D models of breast were developed to investigate the effects of material properties, boundary conditions, location and frequency of mechanical excitation and reflection problem on shear wavelength. Results clearly show the finite element method ability to predict and visualize wave propagation in nonhomogeneous model.