Coronary artery flow measurement using navigator echo gated phase contrast magnetic resonance velocity mapping at 3.0 T

A validation study and early results for non-invasive, in vivo measurement of coronary artery blood flow using phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) at 3.0 T is presented. Accuracy of coronary artery blood flow measurements by phase contrast MRI is limited by heart and respiratory motion as well as the small size of the coronary arteries. In this study, a navigator echo gated, cine phase velocity mapping technique is described to obtain time-resolved velocity and flow waveforms of small diameter vessels at 3.0 T. Phantom experiments using steady, laminar flow are presented to validate the technique and show flow rates measured by 3.0 T phase contrast MRI to be accurate within 15% of true flow rates. Subsequently, in vivo scans on healthy volunteers yield velocity measurements for blood flow in the right, left anterior descending, and left circumflex arteries. Measurements of average, cross-sectional velocity were obtainable in 224/243 (92%) of the cardiac phases. Time-averaged, cross-sectional velocity of the blood flow was 6.8±4.3 cm/s in the LAD, 8.0±3.8 cm/s in the LCX, and 6.0±1.6 cm/s in the RCA.