Error assessment due to coronary stents in flow-encoded phase contrast MR angiography: a phantom study

Phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC MRI) is a promising method for assessing coronary flow. MR angiography images in the presence of coronary stents display artifacts because of the metal present in the stent. Using a flow phantom, the goal of this in vitro study was to assess quantitatively the effects of flow dephasing caused by magnetic susceptibility in velocity measurements in a region where the artifact is not visualized in a magnitude image. The results showed that for high velocities, significant errors in measurements exist around the stent, outside the susceptibility artifact visible on a magnitude image. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;10:899-902.