Clinical multi-push acoustic radiation force for evaluation of renal transplant status

Invasive biopsy is currently the gold standard for assessment of renal transplant health. The need for biopsy may be reduced as suitable, noninvasive imaging methods become available. An imaging technique that exploits the viscoelastic properties of renal tissue could be relevant as a biopsy alternative, given that normal renal pelvis and parenchyma have different viscoelastic properties, while renal disease or rejection may result in altered mechanical relationships between pelvis and parenchyma. We hypothesize that MP-ARF, which qualitatively evaluates the viscoelastic properties of tissue, is relevant for noninvasively assessing viscoelastic similarity between pelvis and parenchyma in renal transplant patient volunteers. Regional ratios of marginal peak displacement (MPD) and first peak measurements were significantly different (p < 0.05) in moderate vascular disease and chronic allograft nephropathy, respectively, relative to control. This suggests that MP ARF could be a relevant clinical technique for noninvasively discriminating renal transplant health.