Simultaneous temporal resolution of cardiac and respiratory motion in MR imaging

To evaluate a magnetic resonance (MR) imaging method that allows for simultaneous resolution of both the cardiac and respiratory cycles.

Conventional and phase-contrast cine sequences were modified to provide additional resolution of the respiratory cycle. Data were collected in 11 healthy volunteers during MR imaging of the heart and portal vein. The imaging time was increased over that of a conventional cine acquisition by a factor equal to the number of frames in the respiratory cycle. Data were compared with those from comparable sequences in which only one motion cycle was resolved.

In the heart, motion due to cardiac dynamics was separated from respiration-induced excursions. The extent of motion could be measured, and artifacts were minimized. Changes in flow rate as a function of both motion cycles were resolved and quantified in both the portal vein and superior vena cava.

This method allows for simultaneous resolution of cardiac and respiratory motion cycles and helps provide a more physiologic view of the effects of cardiac and respiratory variations.