Comparison of different methods for combining phase-contrast images obtained with multiple coils

The ability to determine coil sensitivities implies that a method optimized in terms of maximized signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can be applied to the combination of multiple coil images. An optimization of SNR subsequently results in a minimized variance in quantitative velocity measurements using phase-contrast imaging. When coil sensitivities are unknown, the weighted mean method, utilizing the square of the signal magnitude as weights, is suitable for combination of multiple phase images. In this study, the optimized method using estimated coil sensitivities was compared to the weighted mean method both theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that absence of noise correlation between the different coil images implies no difference between the methods regarding the variance of the phase. In the practical situation, noise correlation does exist, implying an opportunity for further reduction of phase variance using the optimized method. In vitro and in vivo studies showed, however, no significant difference between the two methods studied.