In vivo MR Elastography of mice liver: Comparison of motion encoding strategies between RF optimal control and oscillating gradients.

Motivation: Preclinical Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) in small animal models offers valuable insights but often requires invasive methods. This study aims to develop non-invasive MRE for small animal liver examinations. Goal(s): The specific goal is to compare conventional MEG-based MRE with OC-RARE MRE in terms of signal quality and motion encoding. Approach: A non-invasive MRE setup was created for in vivo mouse liver studies. Both MEG and OC-RARE MRE were tested on four healthy mice. Results: OC-RARE MRE showed superior Signal-to-Noise Ratios and improved wave visualization. Notable standard deviations highlight challenges. Nevertheless, OC-RARE MRE holds promise for small animal MRE research advancement. Impact: hese results underscore a novel wave motion encoding strategy, offering substantial benefits for short T2 tissue studies, potentially reducing high technical error rates and fostering MRE's broader clinical application.