Method and System for a Spatially Resolved Representation of Elastic Properties of Soft Biological Matter

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This patent describes a non-invasive method and system for mapping and visualizing the elastic (especially viscoelastic) properties of soft biological tissues, with particular emphasis on the human brain, using MRI. The system mechanically moves the soft tissue (e.g., the brain in the head) in a controlled manner—typically a small, synchronized lifting and release (free fall)—while MRI imaging sequences are used to sensitively capture the spatial response of the tissue. This generates detailed images that show the distribution and characteristics of tissue elasticity in vivo, providing new diagnostic insights.

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• Early detection and diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, or dementia by mapping changes in brain tissue elasticity.
• Assessment and monitoring of brain tumors or hydrocephalus based on mechanical tissue properties.
• Research into the biomechanics and rheology of other soft tissues and organs in humans and animals.
• Non-invasive evaluation of tissue health and pathological changes without surgical intervention.
• Potential use in pre-surgical planning to understand brain tissue consistency and aid in safer interventions.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Provides high-resolution, spatially-resolved maps of tissue elastic properties directly in living subjects, overcoming the limitations of prior ex-vivo or invasive methods.
• Enhances diagnostic precision by visualizing subtle changes in tissue mechanical properties that may precede anatomical changes seen in conventional MRI.
• Totally non-invasive and free of ionizing radiation, with no additional risk to patients during MRI diagnostics.
• Enables rapid data acquisition (within milliseconds to seconds per tissue slice), improving patient comfort and throughput.
• Reproducible and accurate due to controlled, synchronized motion within the MRI, allowing better comparison across time or between subjects.
• Applicable not just to brain imaging but adaptable to other soft tissue investigations.
• The procedure is safe, comfortable, and compatible with standard MRI systems.

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Patent Abstract

Method for a visually perceptible graphic representation of elastic properties of soft biological matter, preferably of soft brain tissue, wherein the soft matter is moved at every point in time in a movement known in all six degrees of freedom, thereby producing acceleration, and a magnetic resonance imaging method is simultaneously used, and the movement of the soft biological matter is detected by means of the magnetic resonance imaging method in at least one layer. For this purpose, a system with a raising and lowering device (22) that can be positioned in an MRI head coil is used.