Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is an imaging technique that estimates mechanical properties of in vivo tissue. Traditionally, a linear elastic or viscoelastic material model has been used to describe tissue behavior. Recently, a poroelastic algorithm has been developed to better estimate properties of biphasic tissues such as brain, which is 75-80percent water. While shear modulus and pore-pressure are usually estimated from this model, hydraulic conductivity may also provide pertinent clinical information. Defined as the rate at which fluid penetrates through pores, estimates of this parameter would be an important biomarker in applications like tumor identification, detection of increased intracranial pressure, diagnosing traumatic brain injury, and drug delivery. Sensitivity analyses have been performed to demonstrate the feasibility of reconstructing this parameter, and hydraulic conductivity has been successfully estimated in simulations. The focus of current work is improving the reliability of this parameter for use in phantoms and in vivo. A robust hydraulic conductivity reconstruction would allow for a wide array of studies testing its applicability to diagnosing disease.
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