A group from Northwestern University in Chicago previously developed a method to speed up 4D flow MRI using a k-t accelerated approach. This k-t accelerated 4D flow MRI sequence provided consistent blood-flow measurements at scan times faster than three minutes, compared with the typical 10- to 15-minute scanning time, Emilie Bollache told AuntMinnie.com.
"To date, there is no clear consensus regarding timing, type, and extent of surgery that should be performed to treat patients with aortic diseases such as aortic abnormalities, cardiac valvular dysfunctions, and congenital heart disease," she said.
Bollache and colleagues accordingly used this technique to evaluate the wall shear stress of 3D-printed models of the aortas of 10 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with aortic disease, or aortopathy. The calculation of peak systolic wall shear stress in the aortas was just as accurate with k-t accelerated 4D flow MRI as it was with conventional 4D flow MRI, though the k-t accelerated approach was much faster, they discovered.
Reducing scan time and making the acquisition easier are crucial to promoting the overall use of 4D flow MRI in clinical routine, Bollache said.
"Our ultimate goal is to integrate noninvasive aortic blood-flow indices into clinical practice in order to improve both the management and outcome of patients with aortopathy," she said. "Indeed, such research may help plan patient-specific surgical strategies, which would optimize the amount of aortic tissue that needs to be removed to reduce risk associated with aggressive surgical procedures, while also removing all at-risk tissue to avoid future complications and/or reoperation."
