In-Line Automated Tracking in Cardiac Cine MRI

Bo Li¹, Yingmin Liu¹, Brett Raymond Cowan¹, Alistair Andrew Young¹

Feature tracking in cardiac cine MR images facilitates the analysis of heart function, but requires extensive computation. We implemented an efficient non-rigid registration algorithm as part of the image reconstruction process to enable in-line calculation of deformation. The method was evaluated in a clinical setting by comparing wall thickening measurements between automated and manual methods in N=36 patients with cardiovascular disease. The time required for the in-line registration was ~10 seconds per slice, and the % wall thickening was more reliably calculated using the automated method. In-line non-rigid registration is clinically feasible and useful for cardiac mechanics.