Department of Radiology, Division of Neuroradiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
J Magn Reson Imaging. 2009 Nov;30(5):1151-4. doi: 10.1002/jmri.21963.
To noninvasively assess the shear stiffness of the thyroid gland in vivo in order to determine whether magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) might hold clinical utility in the diagnosis of thyroid disease.
Quantitative parametric images of thyroid stiffness in normal volunteers and patients were produced and quantitative stiffness values measured. Average gland stiffness was determined by region of interest analysis of the parametric images. This technique was used to assess stiffness of the thyroid in normal individuals (n = 12), patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT; n = 5), and patients with a solitary benign (n = 8) or malignant (n = 2) thyroid nodule.
Mean shear modulus of normal thyroid glands was 1.9 +/- 0.6 kPa at 100 Hz and 1.3 +/- 0.5 kPa at 80 Hz, while that of HT glands was 2.8 +/- 0.6 kPa and 1.8 +/- 0.6 kPa at 80 Hz, respectively (P = 0.004 at 100 Hz). Elastographic parameters could not differentiate benign from malignant thyroid nodules in these small sample sizes.
We developed a method for the application of MRE to the study of thyroid gland pathology. The results show that the HT gland can be differentiated from normal thyroid. The clinical utility of this imaging modality in the diagnosis and management of thyroid disease awaits further study.
无创评估甲状腺活体剪切弹性，以确定磁共振弹性成像（MRE）是否可能在甲状腺疾病的诊断中有临床应用价值。
对正常志愿者和患者的甲状腺硬度定量参数图像进行了制作和定量硬度值测量。通过对参数图像的感兴趣区域分析来确定平均腺体硬度。该技术用于评估正常个体（n=12）、桥本甲状腺炎（HT；n=5）和单发良性（n=8）或恶性（n=2）甲状腺结节患者的甲状腺硬度。
100 Hz 时正常甲状腺的平均剪切模量为 1.9±0.6 kPa，80 Hz 时为 1.3±0.5 kPa，而 HT 腺体分别为 2.8±0.6 kPa 和 1.8±0.6 kPa（P=0.004 在 100 Hz 时）。在这些小样本量中，弹性成像参数无法区分良性和恶性甲状腺结节。
我们开发了一种将 MRE 应用于甲状腺病理研究的方法。结果表明，HT 腺体可与正常甲状腺区分开来。该成像方式在甲状腺疾病的诊断和管理中的临床应用价值有待进一步研究。
