4D flow images speed up MRI scans for patients with heart failure

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MRI scans on patients with heart failure can be cut to eight minutes with 4D heart MRI scan technology developed at the University of East Anglia.

AdobeStock/Сергей Уланов

The team’s technology uses MRI to create detailed 4D flow images of the heart and shaves up to 12 minutes off the time it takes to perform a scan, a procedure that requires the patient to lay perfectly still in a confined space..

The results are claimed to provide a precise image of the heart valves and blood flow inside the heart, helping doctors determine the best course of treatment for patients. The team’s findings are published in European Radiology Experimental.

In a statement, lead researcher Dr Pankaj Garg, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School and an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at NNUH, said: “Heart failure is a dreadful condition resulting from rising pressures inside the heart. The best method to diagnose heart failure is by invasive assessment, which is not preferred as it has risks.

“An ultrasound scan of the heart called echocardiography is routinely used to measure the peak velocity of blood flow through the mitral valve of the heart. However, this method can be unreliable.  

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4D flow images of the heart