title: Full-brain coverage and high-resolution imaging capabilities of passband b-SSFP fMRI at 3T.
abstract: Passband balanced-steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) fMRI is a recently developed method that utilizes the passband (flat portion) of the b-SSFP off-resonance response to measure MR signal changes elicited by changes in tissue oxygenation following increases in neuronal activity. Rapid refocusing and short readout durations of b-SSFP, combined with the relatively large flat portion of the b-SSFP off-resonance spectrum allows distortion-free full-brain coverage with only two acquisitions. This allows for high-resolution functional imaging, without the spatial distortion frequently encountered in conventional high-resolution functional images. Finally, the 3D imaging compatibility of the b-SSFP acquisitions permits isotropic-voxel-size high-resolution acquisitions. In this study we address some of the major technical issues involved in obtaining passband b-SSFP-based functional brain images with practical imaging parameters and demonstrate the advantages through breath-holding and visual field mapping experiments.
authors.affiliation: Magnetic Resonance Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ljinhy@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Jin Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Serge O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Dumoulin
authors.forename: Emine U
authors.initials: EU
authors.lastname: Saritas
authors.forename: Gary H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Glover
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Wandell
authors.forename: Dwight G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pauly
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*