The need for phase-encoding flow compensation in high-resolution intracranial magnetic resonance angiography

✍ Scribed by Dennis L. Parker; K. Craig Goodrich; John A. Roberts; Brian E. Chapman; Eun-Kee Jeong; Seong-Eun Kim; Jay S. Tsuruda; Gregory L. Katzman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 547 KB
• Volume: 18
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1053-1807
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.10322

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Purpose

To demonstrate that the time delay between phase and frequency encoding and the presence of pulsatile blood flow in high‐resolution time‐of‐flight (TOF) imaging of the intracranial arteries (especially near the circle of Willis) can distort the appearance of blood vessels and result in a cross‐hatch—appearing artifact in surrounding tissue.

Materials and Methods

Two techniques to reduce the artifact, tri‐directional flow compensation (3DFC) and elliptical‐centric (EC) phase‐encoding order, are investigated in five volunteer studies.

Results

3DFC eliminates the pulsation‐related artifacts and the vessel distortion. A residual amplitude variation artifact is observed. EC phase encoding nearly eliminates the pulsatile motion‐related artifact, but it does not eliminate vessel distortion.

Conclusion

The combination of 3DFC and EC phase encoding appears to provide the greatest artifact reduction in the five volunteer studies performed. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2003;18:121–127. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.