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Estimation of left ventricular performance through temporal pressure variations measured by MR velocity and
Jean-Pierre Tasu1, Elie Mousseaux, Patrice Colin
1UMR 8081 C.N.R.S., Université Paris-Sud, C.I.E.R.M., Hôpital Bicêtre, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France. jean-pierre.tasu@bct.ap-hop-paris.fr
Purpose:
To describe a method for assessing pressure variation vs. time (dp/dt) using blood flow acceleration measured by MRI, and to demonstrate its applicability in estimating left ventricular (LV) function.
Materials And Methods:
The method was tested in vitro using a pulsatile phantom, and a strong correlation was found between transducer and MRI determinations of dp/dt (r = 0.98). Selected aortic flow parameters were then measured in 10 patients and the results were compared with transducer measurements of the LV dp/dt.
Results:
The correlation coefficients for the reference estimations of global myocardial function and MRI were 0.59 for aortic velocity, 0.74 for aortic acceleration, and 0.86 for aortic dp/dt.
Conclusion:
MR measurements of velocity and acceleration within the ascending aorta offer a noninvasive method for determining indices, such as the aortic dp/dt, that are closely correlated with the global myocardial contractility function.