Measurement of liver stiffness with two imaging techniques: magnetic resonance elastography and ultrasound elastometry

Purpose

To cross‐validate the magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) technique with a clinical device, based on an ultrasound elastometry system called Fibroscan.

Materials and Methods

Ten healthy subjects underwent an MRE and a Fibroscan test. The MRE technique used a round pneumatic driver at 60 Hz to generate shear waves inside the liver. An elastogram representing a map of the liver stiffness was generated allowing for the measurement of the average liver stiffness inside a region of interest. The Fibroscan technique used an ultrasound probe (3.5 MHz) composed of a vibrator that sent low‐frequency (50 Hz) shear waves inside the right liver lobe. The probe acts as an emitter‐receptor that measures the velocity of the waves propagated inside the liver tissue.

Results

The mean shear stiffness measured with the MRE and Fibroscan techniques were 1.95 ± 0.06 kPa and 1.79 ± 0.30 kPa, respectively. A higher standard deviation was found for the same subject with Fibroscan.

Conclusion

This study shows why MRE should be investigated beyond the Fibroscan. The MRE technique provided elasticity of the entire liver, meanwhile the Fibroscan provided values of elasticity locally. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2008;28:1287–1292. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.