Full-brain coverage and high-resolution imaging capabilities of passband b-SSFP fMRI at 3T.
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.
Lee
Jin Hyung
JH
Magnetic Resonance Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ljinhy@stanford.edu
Dumoulin
Serge O
SO
Saritas
Emine U
EU
Glover
Gary H
GH
Wandell
Brian A
BA
Nishimura
Dwight G
DG
Pauly
John M
JM
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*