Accelerating cine phase-contrast flow measurements using k-t BLAST and k-t SENSE

Magn Reson Med. 2005 Dec;54(6):1430-8. doi: 10.1002/mrm.20730.

Abstract

Conventional phase-contrast velocity mapping in the ascending aorta was combined with k-t BLAST and k-t SENSE. Up to 5.3-fold net acceleration was achieved, enabling single breath-hold acquisitions. A standard phase-contrast (PC) sequence with interleaved acquisition of the velocity-encoded segments was modified to collect data in 2 stages, a high-resolution under sampled and a low-resolution fully sampled training stage. In addition, a modification of the k-t reconstruction strategy was tested. This strategy, denoted as "plug-in," incorporates data acquired in the training stage into the final reconstruction for improved data consistency, similar to conventional keyhole. "k-t SENSE plug-in" was found to provide best image quality and most accurate flow quantification. For this strategy, at least 10 training profiles are required to yield accurate stroke volumes (relative deviation <5%) and good image quality. In vivo 2D cine velocity mapping was performed in 6 healthy volunteers with 30-32 cardiac phases (spatial resolution 1.3 x 1.3 x 8-10 mm(3), temporal resolution of 18-38 ms), yielding relative stroke volumes of 106 +/- 18% (mean +/- 2*SD) and 112 +/- 15% for 3.8 x and 5.3 x net accelerations, respectively. In summary, k-t BLAST and k-t SENSE are promising approaches that permit significant scan-time reduction in PC velocity mapping, thus making high-resolution breath-held flow quantification possible.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Aorta / anatomy & histology*
  • Aorta / physiology*
  • Artifacts
  • Artificial Intelligence*
  • Blood Flow Velocity / physiology*
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Enhancement / methods
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine / methods*
  • Male
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Respiratory Mechanics
  • Sensitivity and Specificity