Estimation of relative cardiovascular pressures using time‐resolved three‐dimensional phase contrast MRI

TLDR

Accurate, easy‑to‑use, noninvasive cardiovascular pressure registration would enhance cardiac function assessment. The study presents a novel noninvasive 3D technique to estimate relative cardiovascular pressures. Relative pressure is calculated from Navier‑Stokes equations along user‑defined straight or curved lines in time‑resolved 3D phase‑contrast MRI, complemented by 3D particle trace visualization. The method was validated in vitro and applied to in vivo cases of normal and abnormal transmitral pressure differences and intraaortic flow. Published in Magn Reson Med 45:872–879 (2001) and © 2001 Wiley‑Liss, Inc.

Abstract

Abstract Accurate, easy‐to‐use, noninvasive cardiovascular pressure registration would be an important addition to the diagnostic armamentarium for assessment of cardiac function. A novel noninvasive and three‐dimensional (3D) technique for estimation of relative cardiovascular pressures is presented. The relative pressure is calculated using the Navier‐Stokes equations along user‐defined lines placed within a time‐resolved 3D phase contrast MRI dataset. The lines may be either straight or curved to follow an actual streamline. The technique is validated in an in vitro model and tested on in vivo cases of normal and abnormal transmitral pressure differences and intraaortic flow. The method supplements an intuitive visualization technique for cardiovascular flow, 3D particle trace visualization, with a quantifiable diagnostic parameter estimated from the same dataset. Magn Reson Med 45:872–879, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.