Simulation of Bolus Dispersion in Quantitative Contrast-Enhanced Myocardial Perfusion MRI: Impact of a Coronary Bifurcation

Regine Schmidt¹, Dirk Graafen¹, Stefan Weber¹, Laura Maria Schreiber¹

The dispersion of a contrast agent bolus at myocardial perfusion MRI was simulated for a coronary bifurcation with stenosis in one branching vessel using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Two sets of simulations for different outflow conditions through the stenotic branch were performed with four simulations for each set (rest and stress, pulsatile and constant velocity). We found a systematic underestimation of myocardial blood flow (MBF) up to -16.1% for pulsatile flow and an overestimation of the myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) up to 7.5%.