Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, College of Nuclear Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC.
Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2013 Jan;29(1):131-40. doi: 10.1007/s10554-012-0056-y. Epub 2012 May 3.
To implement a flow-gating method to acquire phase-contrast (PC) images of carotid arteries without use of an electrocardiography (ECG) signal to synchronize the acquisition of imaging data with pulsatile arterial flow. The flow-gating method was realized through radial scanning and sophisticated post-processing methods including downsampling, complex difference, and correlation analysis to improve the evaluation of flow-gating times in radial phase-contrast scans. Quantitatively comparable results (R = 0.92-0.96, n = 9) of flow-related parameters, including mean velocity, mean flow rate, and flow volume, with conventional ECG-gated imaging demonstrated that the proposed method is highly feasible. The radial flow-gating PC imaging method is applicable in carotid arteries. The proposed flow-gating method can potentially avoid the setting up of ECG-related equipment for brain imaging. This technique has potential use in patients with arrhythmia or weak ECG signals.
为了实现一种无需心电图（ECG）信号即可同步采集颈动脉相位对比（PC）图像的流量门控方法，以获取脉动动脉血流的成像数据。流量门控方法通过径向扫描和复杂的后处理方法（包括下采样、复数差分和相关分析）实现，以提高径向相位对比扫描中流量门控时间的评估。与传统 ECG 门控成像相比，流量相关参数（包括平均速度、平均流量和流量体积）的定量可比结果（R=0.92-0.96，n=9）表明该方法具有高度的可行性。径向流量门控 PC 成像方法适用于颈动脉。所提出的流量门控方法有可能避免为脑部成像设置与 ECG 相关的设备。这项技术在心律失常或 ECG 信号较弱的患者中有潜在的应用价值。
