A compact 0.5 T MR elastography device and its application for studying viscoelasticity changes in biological tissues during progressive formalin fixation.

Purpose: To develop a method of compact tabletop magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for rheological tests of tissue samples and to measure changes in viscoelastic powerlaw constants of liver and brain tissue during progressive fixation.

Methods: A 10-mm bore, 0.5-T permanent-magnet-based MRI system was equipped with a gradient-amplifier-controlled piezo-actuator and motion-sensitive spin echo sequence for inducing and measuring harmonic shear vibrations in cylindrical samples.