Strain–encoded magnetic resonance imaging

Strain–encoded magnetic resonance imaging (SENC-MRI) is a magnetic resonance imaging technique for imaging the strain of deforming tissue. It is undergoing testing to diagnose some heart diseases, particularly congenital right ventricle dysfunctions, which are difficult to diagnose.[1] It is an improvement on magnetic resonance elastography in that it has a faster imaging time, and less post-processing time, to turn the acquired data into a useful image.[2]

Strain–encoded magnetic resonance imaging
Purposeimaging the strain of deforming tissue

To use the technique, the gradient coils in the MRI equipment need to be driven with special pulse sequences, designed for specific tissues, that "tags" deformation of the tissue, such that tissue that deforms more is brighter, or darker, as needed. Using a baseline measurement of normal deformation, the measurements can show unusual amounts of pressure a tissue is exposed to, or indicate that the tissue is unusually stiff or flexible, in either case potentially revealing a pathology.[2]

Inventors of the technique, Nael Osman and Jerry Prince, co-founded a company called DiagnoSoft to get regulatory approval for software enabling this technique and others from their academic lab, and make them available to doctors and patients.[3][4][5][6]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Goetschalckx, K.; Rademakers, F.; Bogaert, J. (2010). "Right ventricular function by MRI". Current Opinion in Cardiology. 22 (5): 451–455. doi:10.1097/HCO.0b013e32833b78e6. PMID 20543681. S2CID 42994412.
  2. ^ a b Osman, N. F. (2003). "Detecting stiff masses using strain-encoded (SENC) imaging". Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 49 (3): 605–608. doi:10.1002/mrm.10376. PMID 12594769. S2CID 20634404.
  3. ^ Diagnosoft official website
  4. ^ Dave Beaudouin for Johns Hopkins Engineer. Summer 2004 Getting to the Heart of Cardiac Imaging
  5. ^ Deanna Pogorelc for MedCity News. April 29, 2014 In tech transfer, an idea isn’t always a product, and an inventor isn’t always an entrepreneur
  6. ^ Diagnosoft Press Release. January 30, 2009 Diagnosoft(R) Introduces Its Third MRI Analysis Innovation