MRI strain imaging of the carotid artery: Present limitations and future challenges

A novel approach using non-rigid image registration of MR images to determine strain in carotid arteries based on black blood cine MRI is proposed in this review. This and other post-processing techniques based on time-resolved MRI data may provide a good estimate of plaque strain, but are also dependent on the spatial and temporal resolution of the MR images. However, they seem to be the most promising approach for MRI based plaque strain analysis in the near future.