Estimating brain tissue stiffness from cardiac-induced 7T MRI displacement measurements

Mechanical properties of the human brain can be altered by a variety of pathologies. These properties can be estimated from in vivo MRI measurements of brain tissue displacements as induced by the heartbeat. Previously obtained 7T MRI displacements measurements were used to reconstruct stiffness parameters using a subzone-based non-linear inversion scheme. Various structures of the brain can be observed in the reconstructed parameter distributions, and the results show good test-retest reliability. The preliminary results show promise of this approach to yield non-invasive assessment of brain tissue microstructure as a tool to investigate brain disease.