Feasibility and Reproducibility of Multifrequency Magnetic Resonance Elastography in Healthy and Diseased Pancreases

Background The feasibility and reproducibility of multifrequency MR elastography (MRE) for diagnosing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have not been reported. Purpose To determine the feasibility and reproducibility of multifrequency MRE for assessing pancreatic stiffness in healthy and diseased pancreases. Study type Prospective. Subjects A total of 40 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with PDAC were prospectively recruited between March 2018 and October 2021. Field strength/sequence A 3.0‐T pancreatic MRE at frequencies in the order of 30, 40, 60, 80, and 100 Hz. Assessment Body mass index (BMI) and wave distance of the healthy pancreas and PDAC were measured. Image quality was assessed using the image quality score (IQS: 1–4, ≥3 were considered diagnostic quality). Three readers independently performed the pancreatic stiffness and IQS assessments to evaluate reproducibility. Statistical tests Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine variables that influenced IQS. Statistical significance was set at P