Steady-state 4D flow using double gating: a healthy volunteer study

Background 4D Phase-Contrast MRI (4D Flow”) has become a choice modality for assessment of flow patterns in complex vasculatures, such as congenital heart diseases. For thoracic imaging, the technique relies on ECG-triggering and an imaging navigator to compensate for breathing motion [Markl-JMRI2007]. The acquisition of the navigator requires switching off the 4D flow acquisition, thus breaking the steady-state and missing a phase in the cardiac cycle. We propose to use double gating from ECG and a pressure-driven belly-belt to monitor breathing motion while maintaining continuous steady-state.