In-vivo validation of interpolation-based phase offset correction in cardiovascular magnetic resonance flow...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Medical Imaging Physics
• Flow Quantification

Background:

• Velocity offset errors in phase contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging affect clinical flow volume assessment.
• These errors are clinically relevant across systems and cannot be eliminated by protocol optimization.
• Phantom-based correction methods are time-consuming and rely on system reproducibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate an in-vivo, interpolation-based velocity offset correction method for CMR.
• To assess the efficacy of this correction method in a multi-vendor, multi-center setting.
• To compare the performance of different spatial interpolation orders.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated data from six 1.5T CMR systems (multi-vendor).
• Acquired 2D flow studies in the aorta and pulmonary artery, with phantom measurements.
• Applied interpolation-based offset correction to in-vivo data, excluding wraparound regions.

Main Results:

• Included 126 flow measurements in 82 subjects; 98 studies met inclusion criteria after quality checks.
• Pre-correction cardiac output error was -5 ± 16%.
• Post-correction, remaining offset velocity was 0.1 ± 0.5 cm/s, with a 0 ± 5% cardiac output error.

Conclusions:

• Interpolation-based offset correction effectively reduces velocity offset errors in CMR.
• This method offers comparable efficacy to phantom correction but is more time-efficient.
• The validated method provides accurate flow quantification in a clinical setting.