EVALUATION OF MYOCARDIAL MOTION TRACKING WITH CINE-PHASE CONTRAST MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. The accuracy of myocardial motion measuremen ts, computed from cine-phase contrast (cine-PC) magnetic resonance (MR ) velocity data, was compared with directly visualized motion of MR si gnal voids caused by implanted tantalum markers in anesthetized dogs. METHODS. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were electrocardiogram- gated and divided into 16 phases per cardiac cycle, Myocardial traject ories as a function of time in the cardiac cycle were measured using b oth methods for four to seven markers in each of eight animals. RESULT S. The peak observed in-plane excursion was 4.0 +/- 2.1 mm, The averag e deviation between displacements derived from velocity data versus di splacements visualized directly was 1.1 +/- 0.7 mm (27.5% of the peak displacement), The difference was less if three separate MR scans were used to measure each velocity component in the cine-PC method, This i mprovement is probably caused by improved temporal resolution. CONCLUS IONS. Cine-PC MRI offers a noninvasive method for accurate quantificat ion of myocardial motion.