MHD signal derived Auto Variable Velocity Encoding for 2D Flow Imaging in 3T Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging

To develop a novel technique to set variable velocity-encoding (VENC) values according to magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) voltage/signal for 2D flow imaging in 3 Tesla MR system. MHD signal is calculated using the electrocardiogram signals measured outside and inside the static magnetic bore during the patient preparation process. Then, VENC values are assigned in terms of the MHD signal in each cardiac phase. A volunteer was scanned to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed method. Specifically, velocity and velocity to noise ratio (VNR) using the proposed method were measured and compared with conventional constant VENC value methods at 3T. MHD signal is measured during the patient preparation, thus no additional breath-holds are required and the VENC values can be calculated for each cardiac phase before the acquisition.