Radiology, Vol 171, 487-492, Copyright © 1989 by Radiological Society of North America
Human abdominal aorta: comparative measurements of blood flow with MR imaging and multigated Doppler US
SE Maier, D Meier, P Boesiger, UT Moser and A Vieli
Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Informatics, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has proved to be a new alternative method
for the noninvasive detection and quantification of blood flow in human
vessels. By means of standard gradient echo sequences triggered with
electrocardiography on a 1.5-T whole-body imaging system, the authors
measured the flow-induced phase shift in the abdominal aorta of healthy
volunteers. The instantaneous two- dimensional velocity profiles and the
integrated flow rate were determined in intervals down to 21 msec
throughout the cardiac cycle. The results were validated by means of
comparative measurements with a multigated Doppler ultrasound instrument.
The velocity values acquired with this instrument in one spatial dimension
in the anteroposterior direction of the abdominal aorta agreed to a great
extent with the temporal and spatial corresponding values recorded with MR
imaging. The same high correlation between the two methods was found for
the calculated instantaneous total blood flow.
