A magnetic resonance imaging method and apparatus includes a navigator region
defined
within the subject by selective excitation. Blood flow is measured within the selected
region using the principles of phase contrast MR angiography. A cardiac cycle plot
is constructed from Fourier transformed data that represents measured velocity
of blood flow through the navigator region as a function of time. On the basis
of the cardiac cycle plot and the navigator measurements, data acquisition is synchronized
or gated to portions of the cardiac cycle.
