Color flow-encoded MR imaging.

Magnetic resonance phase images can enable identification of any type of motion, including the velocity and direction of flow, and thus provide valuable supplements to magnitude images, which depict stationary tissue most effectively. A method is described for the simultaneous display of phase and magnitude by color encoding the phase data and superimposing it on the magnitude image to facilitate clinical interpretation. Color-encoded data not only depict the location and direction of flow along specific axes but can also provide relative velocity information through shades of color. Implementation of the technique is described, and the factors to be considered during interpretation of color flow-encoded images are discussed.