Free-running 3D anatomical and flow MRI using Synchronization of Neighboring Acquisitions by Physiological Signals (SyNAPS)

Abstract

We introduce a novel method for combining multiple free-running MRI acquisitions together, through the use of cardiac and respiratory signal extraction with Pilot Tone navigation called Synchronization of Neighboring Acquisitions by Physiological Signals (SyNAPS). We demonstrate the initial feasibility and utility of SyNAPS on a setup for joint reconstruction of back-to-back dynamic anatomical and flow MRI acquisitions, here named 4D flow SyNAPS. Overall, 4D flow SyNAPS enabled an improved structural visualization, when compared to the magnitude images from free-running 4D flow datasets alone, and the resulting flow measurements showed better agreement with reference 2D flow acquisitions.