Gabor filter-based automated strain computation from tagged MR images

Myocardial tagging is a non-invasive MR imaging technique; it generates a periodic tag pattern in the magnetization that deforms with the tissue during the cardiac cycle. It can be used to assess regional myocardial function, including tissue displacement and strain. Most image analysis methods require labor-intensive tag detection and tracking. We have developed an accurate and automated method for tag detection in order to calculate strain from tagged magnetic resonance images of the heart. It detects the local spatial frequency and phase of the tags using a bank of Gabor filters with varying frequency and phase. This variation in tag frequency is then used to calculate the local myocardial strain. The method is validated using computer simulations.