Iain Thomas Pierce1,2, Peter David
Gatehouse1,2, Evi Kalodiki3,4, Chris Lattimer3,4,
George Geroulakos3,4, David N. Firmin1,2
1NHLI, Imperial College
London, London, United Kingdom; 2CMR Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital
Trust, London, United Kingdom; 3Dept of Surgery & Cancer,
Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; 4Vascular Unit,
Ealing Hospital, London, United Kingdom
Intermittent Pneumatic Compression is commonly used as prophylaxis for venous-thromboembolism. Previously Doppler ultrasound has been used to investigate the venous flow resulting from IPC devices. Real-time MR velocity mapping, using spiral gradient readouts, was used to monitor the anatomical and velocity changes throughout multiple IPC cycles using foot and calf cuffs together and also individually. This method measured deep venous flow in 12 subjects allowing complex flow to be visualised in two subjects and measurement from secondary deep veins present in two different subjects, both of which would not be possible using ultrasound.