Assessing the accuracy and reproducibility of modality independent elastography in a XXXX model of @entity0 .

@entity5 @entity19 @entity0 @entity2693
@entity5 progression has been linked to mechanics. Therefore, there has been recent interest in developing noninvasive imaging tools for @entity5 assessment that are sensitive to changes in tissue mechanical properties. We have developed one such method, modality independent elastography (MIE), that estimates the relative elastic properties of tissue by fitting anatomical image volumes acquired before and after the application of compression to biomechanical models. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and reproducibility of the method using phantoms and a @entity19 @entity0 model. Magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired, and the MIE method was used to estimate relative @entity2693 . Accuracy was assessed using phantom data by comparing to gold-standard mechanical testing of elasticity ratios. Validation error was [Formula: see text]. Reproducibility analysis was performed on animal data, and within-subject coefficients of variation ranged from 2 to 13% at the bulk level and 32% at the voxel level. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the reproducibility of an elasticity imaging metric in a preclinical @entity5 model. Our results suggest that the MIE method can reproducibly generate accurate estimates of the relative mechanical @entity2693 and provide guidance on the degree of change needed in order to declare biological changes rather than experimental error in future therapeutic studies.
