Multiple velocity estimation by maximum likelihood from MRI complex signals

Abstract

Abstract The measurement of fluid velocity by encoding it in the phase of an MRI signal could allow the discrimination of the stationary spins signals from those of moving spins. This results in a wide variety of applications i.e. in medicine, in order to obtain more than angiograms, blood velocity images of veins, arteries and other vessels without having static tissue perturbing the signal of fluid in motion. This paper presents a novel theoretical and experimental method for the estimation of multiple velocities from MRI complex signals in the presence of stationary spins.