In-Scan and Scan-Rescan Assessment of LV In- and Outflow Volumes by 4D Flow MRI Versus 2D Planimetry

Purpose: To evaluate the in-scan and scan-rescan consistency of left ventricular (LV) in- and outflow assessment from 1) 2D planimetry; 2) 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with retrospective valve tracking, and 3) 4D flow MRI with particle tracing.Materials and Methods: Ten healthy volunteers (age 27 +/- 3 years) underwent multislice cine short-axis planimetry and whole-heart 4D flow MRI on a 3T MRI scanner twice with repositioning between the scans. LV in- and outflow was compared from 1) 2D planimetry; 2) 4D flow MRI with retrospective valve tracking over the mitral valve (MV) and aortic valve (AV), and 3) 4D flow MRI with particle tracing through forward and backward integration of velocity data.Results: In-scan consistency between MV and AV flow volumes is excellent for both 4D flow MRI methods with r >= 0.95 (P = 0.81, P = 0.89, P = 0.90, P = 0.81, P <= 0.007, CVs <= 16%).Conclusion: LV in- and outflow assessment by 2D planimetry and 4D flow MRI with retrospective valve tracking and particle tracing show good in-scan consistency and strong scan-rescan reproducibility, which indicates that both 4D flow MRI methods are reliable and can be used clinically