Phase contrast imaging is an MRI technique that can be used to visualize moving fluid.
So the technique can be used to visualise the abnormalities of blood vessels
Principle
Phase contrast angiography relies on dephasing the moving spins submitted to a bipolar gradient.
For a bipolar gradient of a given intensity and time, the moving spins will dephase in proportion to their velocity.
So, Spins that are moving in the same direction as a magnetic field gradient develop a phase shift that is proportional to the velocity of the spins.
This is the basis of phase-contrast angiography
How the technique is used
Phase contrast imaging can be used for the following:
flow quantification in cardiovascular MRI studies
MR venography as a non-IV-contrast requiring technique
CSF flow studies
