Development of an MR Technique to Investigate the Effects of Respiration and Muscle Contraction on the Venous Blood Flow in the Lower Leg

Iain Thomas Pierce¹, Peter D. Gatehouse^2,3, David N. Firmin^2,3, Xiao Yun Xu³, Andrew D. Scott³

A description of an MR technique that makes use of spiral readout gradients and Phase Contrast imaging, developed and optimised to investigate the blood flow in the lower limb venous system for investigation into aetiology of DVT. Here showing the dependency of the blood velocity in the Posterior Tibial Vein and an intra-muscular vein with regular respiration, cardiac drawing through IVC and calf muscle contraction.