A fast and highly automated approach to myocardial motion analysis using phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: To develop a fast and highly automated method for calculating two-dimensional myocardial motion and deformation using velocity encoded magnetic resonance imaging. Materials and Methods: Two-dimensional phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging was used to acquire time resolved velocity maps of the myocardium. Cardiac motion was calculated by an iterative integration-regularization scheme of low computational cost. Image segmentation was performed using active appearance models. Results: Validation of motion tracking was performed in N = 47 subjects using saturation grid-tagging and closely followed "tag-lines." Image segmentation was validated vs. manual delineation. Conclusion: The speed and limited user interaction gives the method good potential for use in clinical practice.