Assessment of velopharyngeal function with dual-planar high-resolution real-time spiral dynamic MRI.

Purpose: To develop a real-time dynamic MRI method for comprehensive evaluation of velum movement during speech.

Methods: Dynamic MRI has been used to study velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) by imaging the movement of the velum during speech, because it can provide good anatomic details with no exposed radiation. To be able to comprehensively evaluate dynamic velum movement, a real-time spiral non-balanced SSFP sequence was developed with simultaneous dual-planar coverage and improved spatial and temporal resolution using a combination of parallel imaging and spatial and temporal compressed sensing to achieve 6 × acceleration.