Ultrasound Vector Flow Imaging Compared with Phase Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Estimating Blood Flow Velocity and Volume Flow in the Common Carotid Artery

Comparison for 30 common carotid arteries (CCAs) flow measurements was made between two imaging techniques - ultrasound vector flow imaging (V Flow) and phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI). The maximum and mean velocities of the blood flow during one cardiac cycle, and the volume flowrate in the CCA were measured by V Flow and PC-MRI, respectively. The mean absolute errors (MAEs) of the maximum and mean velocities estimations for V Flow were 10.6% and 17.4%, relative to PC-MRI measurements. The MAE of the volume flow measurement was 10.3%. The corresponding r-values were 0.91, 0.92, and 0.73, respectively. A good agreement between V Flow and PC-MRI was found for the maximum velocity and volume flow measurements in the CCA. However, the mean velocity was considered to be overestimated by V Flow compared to PC-MRI results.