Motivation: Long scan times in conventional 4D flow MRI limit its use in pediatric congenital heart disease (CHD) due to motion artifacts and patient discomfort. Goal(s): To evaluate an accelerated 4D flow MRI technique that reduces scan time while maintaining flow quantification accuracy in pediatric CHD patients. Approach: We demonstrate a 5-minute free-breathing 4D flow MRI protocol using compressed sensing, respiratory soft-gating, and cardiac view-sharing. Flow estimates were compared with conventional 2D phase contrast MRI. Results: The accelerated method provided accurate flow quantification, with strong agreement to 2D PCMR and reduced scan time compared to conventional 4D flow. Impact: This study shows that accelerated 4D flow MRI can shorten scan times while maintaining accuracy, improving clinical workflow and patient comfort in pediatric congenital heart disease.
Jooybari et al. (Tue,) studied this question.