Regional tissue mechanics play a fundamental role in the patient-specific function and remodeling of the cardiovascular system. Nevertheless, regional in vivo assessments of aortic kinematics remain lacking due to the challenge of imaging the thin aortic wall. Herein, we present a novel application of displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify the regional displacement and circumferential Green strain of the thoracic and abdominal aorta. Two-dimensional (2D) spiral cine DENSE and steady-state free procession (SSFP) cine images were acquired at 3T at either the infrarenal abdominal aorta (IAA), descending thoracic aorta (DTA), or distal aortic arch (DAA) in a pilot study of six healthy volunteers (22–59 y.o., 4 females). DENSE data were processed with multiple custom noise reduction techniques including time-smoothing, displacement vector smoothing, sectorized spatial smoothing, and reference point averaging to calculate circumferential Green strain across 16 equispaced sectors around the aorta. Each volunteer was scanned twice to evaluate interstudy repeatability. Circumferential Green strain was heterogeneously distributed in all volunteers and locations. The mean spatial heterogeneity index (standard deviation of all sector values divided by the mean strain) was 0.37 in the IAA, 0.28 in the DTA, and 0.59 in the DAA. Mean (homogenized) peak strain by DENSE for each cross section was consistent with the homogenized linearized strain estimated from SSFP cine. The mean difference in peak strain across all sectors following repeat imaging was −0.1±2.3%, with a mean absolute difference of 1.7%. Aortic cine DENSE MRI is a viable noninvasive technique for quantifying heterogeneous regional aortic wall strain and has significant potential to improve patient-specific clinical assessments of numerous aortopathies, as well as to provide the lacking spatiotemporal data required to refine patient-specific computational models of aortic growth and remodeling.
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June 2019
Research-Article
In Vivo Quantification of Regional Circumferential Green Strain in the Thoracic and Abdominal Aorta by Two-Dimensional Spiral Cine DENSE MRI
John S. Wilson,
John S. Wilson
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322
e-mail: john.s.wilson@emory.edu
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322
e-mail: john.s.wilson@emory.edu
1Corresponding author.
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Xiaodong Zhong,
Xiaodong Zhong
Magnetic Resonance R&D Collaborations,
Siemens Healthcare,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Siemens Healthcare,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322
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Jackson Hair,
Jackson Hair
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322
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W. Robert Taylor,
W. Robert Taylor
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Division of Cardiology,
Department of Medicine,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Department of Medicine,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Division of Cardiology,
Department of Medicine,
Atlanta VA Medical Center,
Decatur, GA 30033
Department of Medicine,
Atlanta VA Medical Center,
Decatur, GA 30033
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John N. Oshinski
John N. Oshinski
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322
Search for other works by this author on:
John S. Wilson
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322
e-mail: john.s.wilson@emory.edu
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322
e-mail: john.s.wilson@emory.edu
Xiaodong Zhong
Magnetic Resonance R&D Collaborations,
Siemens Healthcare,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Siemens Healthcare,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322
Jackson Hair
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322
W. Robert Taylor
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Division of Cardiology,
Department of Medicine,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Department of Medicine,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Division of Cardiology,
Department of Medicine,
Atlanta VA Medical Center,
Decatur, GA 30033
Department of Medicine,
Atlanta VA Medical Center,
Decatur, GA 30033
John N. Oshinski
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences,
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Emory University School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA 30322;
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322
Emory University and Georgia
Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30322
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received October 1, 2017; final manuscript received June 25, 2018; published online April 22, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Jonathan Vande Geest.
J Biomech Eng. Jun 2019, 141(6): 060901 (11 pages)
Published Online: April 22, 2019
Article history
Received:
October 1, 2017
Revised:
June 25, 2018
Citation
Wilson, J. S., Zhong, X., Hair, J., Robert Taylor, W., and Oshinski, J. N. (April 22, 2019). "In Vivo Quantification of Regional Circumferential Green Strain in the Thoracic and Abdominal Aorta by Two-Dimensional Spiral Cine DENSE MRI." ASME. J Biomech Eng. June 2019; 141(6): 060901. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040910
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