Quantification and comparison of 4D Flow MRI derived wall shear stress and MRE derived wall shear stiffness of abdominal aorta

Background Aortic wall shear stiffness (AWS) and wall shear stress (WSS) are important indicators of pathological changes in the abdominal aorta. Previous studies have shown that AWS increases with diseases such as hypertension and atherosclerosis while WSS decreases with these diseases. Therefore, early detection of AWS and WSS could significantly impact timely treatment of these pathological conditions. Non-invasive estimation of AWS and WSS became feasible after the recent advent of phase contrast MRI based magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and 4D flow MRI respectively. We hypothesize that investigating the relationship between AWS and WSS may provide additional information to assist in diagnosis of aortic diseases. Therefore, in this study, we use both MRE and 4D flow MRI to estimate and establish the correlation between AWS and WSS in normal human subjects.