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MR Flow and Quantification

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Abstract

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the historical evolution of multinuclear, cardiac MRI, from the biophysical, imaging, physiological, and pathophysiological perspectives, and introduces the reader to the practical, methodological details of state-of-the-art applications. Flow quantification with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is an established method for assessing patients with a variety of cardiovascular diseases, particularly valvular heart disease and congenital heart disease. This chapter reviews the basic MR physics and clinical applications for flow quantification, from one-directional flow-sensitive MR to time-resolved, three-directional flow-sensitive MR.

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Abbreviations

ϕ:

Phase difference, phase shift

ΔP:

Pressure difference

2D:

Two-dimensional

3D:

Three-dimensional

4D:

Four-dimensional, used in reference to three-dimensional, three-directional velocity, sensitive phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging

bSSFP:

Balanced steady state free precession

CHD:

Congenital heart disease

CMR:

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance

m0 :

First measurement of flow acquisition

m1 :

Second measurement of flow acquisition

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

PC:

Phase contrast

QP :

Pulmonary flow

QS :

Systemic flow

SNR:

Signal to noise ratio

TR:

Repetition time

V1:

Velocity proximal to stenosis

V2:

Velocity distal to stenosis

VENC:

Velocity encoding

VNR:

Velocity to noise ratio

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Correspondence to Christopher Francois MD, PhD .

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Francois, C. (2018). MR Flow and Quantification. In: Constantinides, C. (eds) Protocols and Methodologies in Basic Science and Clinical Cardiac MRI. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53001-7_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53001-7_10

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