Diagnosing Aortic Stenosis Using Phase Contrast MRI: Comparison with Echocardiography Depending on the Image Plane

Abstract

This study intended to suggest a better method of measuring the precise peak velocity of the bloodstream of a patient suffering from aortic stenosis (AS) with a view to improving the reliability of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The study targeted 23 patients whose direction of the stenotic flow jet was different from that of the blood vessel among the patients who were diagnosed with a moderate or higher level of AS on echocardiography. The phase-contrast (PC) MRI was used for quantitatively measuring the bloodstream velocity. The examination was accomplished according to the two different image plane selection methods in the same patient. After placing the image planes perpendicular to the blood vessel and the stenotic flow jet, respectively, we obtained the two velocity encoded images to calculate the peak blood velocities to compare them with the measurement results from an echocardiography scan. According to the comparison results of the peak blood velocities, echocardiography showed a mean peak blood velocity of 4.19 ± 1.05 m/s. On the PC MRI scan, the peak blood velocity was 3.11 ± 0.77 m/s when the image plane was perpendicular to the blood vessel and 3.58 ± 0.87 m/s when the image plane was placed perpendicular to the stenotic flow jet. As a result, if PC MRI is used to measure the peak blood velocity for patients with AS, then the image plane must be placed perpendicular to the stenotic flow jet, instead of perpendicular to the blood vessel, to provide a more precise value of a low blood velocity.