Accuracy of Real-Time Echo-Planar Imaging Phase Contrast MRI

Compared with CINE phase contrast MRI (CINE-PC), echo-planar imaging phase contrast (EPI-PC) can achieve realtime quantification of blood flow, with lower SNR. In this study, the pulsating real model of the simulated cerebral vasculature was used to verify the accuracy of EPI-PC. The imaging time of EPI-PC was 62ms/image at 100*60 spatial resolution. The reconstructed EPI-PC flow curve was extracted by homemade post-processing software. After comparison with the CINE-PC flow curve, it was concluded that EPI-PC can provide an average flow with less than 3% error, and its flow curve will be similar to the CINE-PC flow curve in shape.

Cerebro spinal fluid dynamic in front of cardiac and breathing influence

It is still debated how breathing interacts with the CSF. New Phase contrast MRI sequence based on Echo Planar imaging (EPI-PC) can now produce continuously during minutes a velocity map, more or less every 100 ms. We did not found in the literature quantitative evaluation of the CSF stroke volume change during breathing. The aim of this work is to quantify CSF dynamics change in the aqueduct and in the spinal canal during the breathing and cardiac period using EPI-PC.

Real-Time Phase Contrast MRI to quantify Cerebral arterial flow change during variations breathing

Cerebral arterial blood flow (CABF) can be investigated in few seconds without any synchronization by Real-Time phase contrast. Significant changes in CABF were found between expiration and inspiration during normal breathing of healthy volunteers. Synopsis (100/100) Real-time phase contrast MRI has been applied to investigate cerebral arterial blood flow (CABF) during normal breathing of healthy volunteers. We developed a novel time-domain analysis method to quantify the effect of normal breathing on several parameters of CABF. We found the existence of a delay between the recorded respiratory signal from the belt sensor and the breathing frequency component present in the reconstructed arterial blood flows. During the expiratory, the mean flow rate of CABF increased by 4.4$\pm$1.7%, stroke volume of CABF increased by 9.8$\pm$3.1% and the duration of the cardiac period of CABF increased by 8.1$\pm$3%.

Flow 2.0 -a flexible, scalable, cross-platform post-processing software for realtime phase contrast sequences

Flow 2.0 is an end-to-end easy-of-use software that allows us to quickly, robustly and accurately perform a batch process real-time phase contrast data and multivariate analysis of the effect of respiration on cerebral fluids circulation. Synopsis (99/100) Real-time phase contrast sequences (RT-PC) have potential value as a scientific and clinical tool in quantifying the effects of respiration on cerebral circulation. To simplify its complicated post-processing process, we developed Flow 2.0 software, which provides a complete post-processing workflow including converting DICOM data, image segmentation, image processing, data extraction, background field correction, antialiasing filter, signal processing and analysis and a novel time-domain method for quantifying the effect of respiration on the cerebral circulation. This end-to-end software allows us to quickly, robustly and accurately perform batch process RT-PC and multivariate analysis of the effects of respiration on cerebral circulation.