Cardiovasc Imaging Asia.  2018 Apr;2(2):85-96. 10.22468/cvia.2018.00045.

Four-Dimensional Flow Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Cardiovascular Imaging: from Basic Concept to Clinical Application

• Ota H
• Higuchi S
• Sun W
• Ueda T
• Takase K
• Tamura H

• KMID: 2524867
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.22468/cvia.2018.00045

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in evaluation of the cardiovascular system. Two-dimensional phase-contrast MRI has been used to assess regional blood flow parameters such as flow velocity and volume and regurgitant fraction. Recently, fourdimensional (4D) flow MRI that acquires three-dimensional (3D) velocity and encodes volume coverage has been developed and applied to various clinical settings. 4D flow MRI allows retrospective flow measurement at any cross-section and 3D flow visualization through postprocessing. More advanced flow parameters based on fluid dynamics have been proposed and applied to 4D flow MRI to further understand flow mechanisms that might be related to the evolution and progression of cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this review is to introduce the basics of 4D flow image acquisition and postprocessing, and its clinical application to selected cardiovascular diseases.

Keyword

Magnetic resonance imaging; Hemodynamics; Heart diseases; Vascular diseases; Pulmonary hypertension