Magnetic Resonance Elastography as a Method to Estimate Stiffness of Soft Tissues (MRE)

April 4, 2025 updated by: Arunark Kolipaka
Magnetic resonance elastography is a novel non-invasive MRI technique to obtain stiffness of soft tissues such as liver, heart, kidneys, etc. In this imaging technique a person is laid in an MR scanner and a paddle (plastic drum) is put on the area of interest to send sound vibration via a speaker placed outside the scan room which is connecting plastic drum via a plastic tube. These vibrations are scanned using MRI to estimate the stiffness of soft tissues such as liver, heart, kidneys, breast etc.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

Recently a new and novel noninvasive imaging-based technique known as Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) was developed that is capable of quantifying stiffness of soft tissues such as liver, spleen, kidney, heart brain, breast, aorta etc. In MRE a person is laid into an MR scanner which is similar to all MR scans. In addition, a drum (passive driver) is placed on the body (area close to the region of interest), which is connected by a long plastic tube that runs outside the scan room. This drum is tightly strapped by a Velcro to the body for better contact. Then the other end of the plastic tube is connected to an active driver that produces vibrations of frequencies in the range of 20Hz -2kHz. These frequencies of vibrations are transferred to the passive driver which produces vibrations on the body. These vibrations are tracked using MR scanner to produce wave images. A post-processing of these wave images are performed to obtain spatial stiffness maps. Currently, MRE is a clinical tool to assess hepatic fibrosis at many institutions. MRE is superior to many invasive techniques (i.e. biopsies, catheter based Pressure-Volume measurements) and mechanical testing in that it is noninvasive and can be performed in vivo under physiologic conditions. MRE could make stiffness widely available and could revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of numerous diseases affecting stiffness of soft tissues. For example in Liver: diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver tumors etc. Heart: diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction, myocardial infarction, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, contractility etc. Aorta: Aortic aneurysms, hypertension etc. This technology is completely noninvasive and the vibrational energy is way below the required standards. Previous experiences of these vibrations are like massaging the body. The risks of this research study are minimal, which means that we do not believe that they will be any different than what you would experience at a routine clinical visit or during your daily life. This study will not make participants' health better. It is for the benefit of research.The specific aim of this study is that MRE can be used as a noninvasive tool to diagnose different disease states in soft tissues. In this study we will be applying this technique in adult volunteers to test the feasibility and validation of the technique in different organs.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
1000

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210
        • Recruiting
        • The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Arunark Kolipaka, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

  1. You are 18 and over and affected by a certain disease condition such as Heart/Kidney/Lung/liver/spleen or aortic aneurysms or any other kind of diseases where stiffness of the soft tissue is thought to change.
  2. You are 18 and over and a healthy volunteer and not affected by any of the conditions mentioned in #1 above.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Any participant 18 years or older and are MR safe.

Exclusion Criteria:

That study participants will be excluded if they have any unapproved metal in their bodies, or if the volunteers are pregnant or possible of becoming pregnant. Also if the participants are claustrophobic.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Altered Stiffness
Tissue stiffness will be evaluated in subjects those with disease conditions where stiffness changes from normal. These studies will be repeated for reproducibility.
Healthy Volunteers
Tissue stiffness will be evaluated in normal subjects to determine the normal values. These studies will be repeated for reproducibility.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Stiffness of soft tissues
Time Frame: Participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, ecah clinical visit after discharge for an expected average up to 1 year
Estimate any variation in stiffness
Participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, ecah clinical visit after discharge for an expected average up to 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Arunark Kolipaka

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Arunark Kolipaka, PhD, Ohio State University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 18, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 21, 2012

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 31, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 6, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 4, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2012H0027

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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