A regularized flow quantification method using MRI tagging and Single Echo Acquisition imaging.

Single Echo Acquisition (SEA) imaging is a fully parallel imaging method that can be used to image rapid flow at the frame rate as high as 200 frames per second. Previous work has shown that SEA imaging can visualize turbulent flows, and discussed a preliminary tool for quantitatively analyzing 2D rapid fluid flows using SEA imaging and the HARmonic Phase (HARP) method. In this paper, the quantification method was further developed to use physical model to constrain the HARP flow analysis. Specifically, the method uses Navier-Stokes and continuity equations to regularize the flow analysis. The method is applied to the tagged SEA MR image sequence of turbulent flows to test its effectiveness. The results from the new method was demonstrated and compared with the flow field obtained from the conventional HARP method.