Simultaneous MRI tagging and through-plane velocity quantification: A three-dimensional myocardial motion tracking algorithm

A tracking algorithm was developed for calculation of three-dimensional poi nt-specific myocardial motion. The algorithm was designed for images acquir ed with simultaneous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) grid tagging and thro ugh-plane velocity quantification. The tagging grid provided the in-plane m otion while the velocity quantification measured the through-plane motion, In four healthy volunteers, the in vivo performance was evaluated by compar ing the systolic through-plane displacement with the displacement of taggin g-grid intersections in long-axis images, The correlation coefficient was 0 .93 (P < 0.001, N = 183), A t-test for paired samples revealed a small unde restimation of the through-plane displacement by 0.04 +/- 0.09 cm (mean +/- SD, P < 0.001) on an average displacement of 0.77 +/- 0.23 cm toward the a pex. The authors conclude that three-dimensional point-specific motion trac king based on simultaneous tagging and velocity quantification is competiti ve with other methods such as tagging in mutually orthogonal image planes o r quantification of three orthogonal velocity components, (C) 1999 Wiley-Li ss, Inc.