Mitral and aortic valvular flow: quantification with MR phase mapping.

When magnetic resonance phase mapping is used to quantitate valvular blood flow, the presence of higher-order-motion terms may cause a loss of phase information. To overcome this problem, a sequence with reduced encoding for higher-order motion was used, achieved by decreasing the duration of the flow-encoding gradient to 2.2 msec. Tested on a flow phantom simulating a severe valvular stenosis, the sequence was found to be robust for higher-order motion within the clinical velocity range. In eight healthy volunteers, mitral and aortic volume flow rates and peak velocities were quantified by means of phase mapping and compared with results of the indicator-dilution technique and Doppler echocardiography, respectively. Statistically significant correlations were found between phase mapping and the other two techniques. Similar studies in patients with valvular disease indicate that phase mapping is also valid for pathologic conditions. Phase mapping may be used as a noninvasive clinical tool for flow quantification in heart valve disease.