Patients born with severe heart defects need regular monitoring of the complex hemodynamics in their heart and vasculature. 4D flow MRI has emerged as the state-of-the-art technique for comprehensively evaluating cardiovascular hemodynamics. This imaging technique allows for the dynamic visualization of 3D blood through the cardiac cycle and the quantification of key metrics, including peak velocity, net flow and flow distribution, while adding only 5-10 minutes to the standard clinical MRI exam. The purpose of this work was to develop 4D flow MRI methods for application in patients with complex congenital heart disease. This work included the quantification of flow distribution in patients born with only one fully functioning ventricle (Fontan circulation) and the volumetric assessment of peak velocity in patients with a complex cardiovascular abnormality (transposition of the great arteries). To provide an improved depiction of cardiovascular anatomy and flow, this work also focused on implementing a new MRI acquisition protocol with inherently high blood-tissue contrast, 3D time-resolved (cine) balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP), for combination with 4D flow MRI for a better overall evaluation of complex cases of congenital heart defects.

Last modified

• 03/13/2018

Creator

• Kelly Jarvis

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/N2610Q

Subject

• Biomedical Engineering

Keyword

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical imaging

Date created

• 2017-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright