Volumetric, 3D Velocity Encoded Valve Imaging with Radial Undersampling

Steven R. Kecskemeti¹, Kevin Johnson¹, Oliver Wieben¹

The application of PC to cardiac valve imaging offers unique challenges. With the valve location changing as much as 30mm within the cardiac cycle, 2D single directional PC exams may miss the intended location. An attractive alternative is 3D PC covering a modest slab, with three directional velocity encoding [1]. However, current use is hampered by long scantimes necessary to achieve the high spatial and temporal resolution required for valve imaging. A 3D hybrid radial k-space acquisition allows both the mitral and tricuspid or the pulmonary and aortic valves to be imaged in a single scan within a reasonable time.