Abstract #3291

Variable Velocity Encoding of 4D Phase-Contrast Sequences to Improve Blood Flow Visualizations

Anders Nilsson¹, Karin Markenroth Bloch^1,2, Freddy Sthlberg^1,3

¹Dept. of Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Sweden; ²Clinical Sciences, Philips Healthcare, Lund, Sweden; ³Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology, Lund University, Sweden

Conventional implementation of phase contrast sequences determines the velocity encoding sensitivity (Venc) from the maximal velocity in the complete cardiac cycle. In heart phases with slow flow, the Venc is therefore much higher than needed. By optimizing the Venc to the specific area of interest, it has been shown that the noise could be lowered substantially. In this work, we investigate the potential benefits of a 4D phase-contrast sequence with variable velocity encoding throughout the cardiac cycle, with respect to blood flow visualizations.