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To validate a real‐time phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (RT‐PCMRI) sequence in a controlled phantom model, and to quantify the relative contributions of respiration and cardiac pulsations on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) velocity at the level of the foramen magnum (FM).

To validate the 3T MRI techniques, in vitro studies used a realistic model of the spinal subarachnoid space driven by pulsatile flow waveforms mimicking the respiratory and cardiac components of CSF flow. Subsequently, CSF flow was measured continuously during 1‐minute RT‐PCMRI acquisitions at the FM while healthy subjects (N = 20) performed natural breathing, deep breathing, breath‐holding, and coughing. Conventional cardiac‐gated PCMRI was obtained for comparison. A frequency domain power ratio analysis determined the relative contribution of respiration versus cardiac ([r/c …