Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) Cardiac Phase Estimation for adult and fetal real-time MRI

Motivation: Cardiac synchronization in adult and fetal imaging requires external devices (electrocardiogram, Doppler-ultrasound), which may compromise image quality and increase scan time. Self-gating with real-time imaging can mitigate this but may be less reliable for irregular motions and limited in fetal applications. Goal(s): To develop a fast image-based cardiac phase estimation method with no assumption on the heart rate and minimal user input. Approach: Dynamic Mode Decomposition is used to estimate cardiac motion signal for retrospective-gating. Results: DMD cardiac phase estimation captures cardiac motion despite the irregularities and other bulk motions, as demonstrated in real-time adult and fetal cardiac imaging, including a twin gestation. Impact: The proposed technique, Dynamic Mode Decomposition cardiac phase estimation, constructs cardiac signal with no assumption on periodicity, no iterations, and only minimal user input. This may be valuable in fetal cardiac imaging, where the cardiac signal is not readily available.