PURPOSE: The increasing demand for the clinical application of functional MR imaging raises the question of whether this technique can be routinely performed on 1.0-T MR scanners. To this end, we assessed the feasibility of functional MR imaging at 1.0 T. METHODS: Healthy volunteers were scanned during the performance of a motor task. Functional data were acquired with echo-planar imaging (EPI) and with gradient-echo (GRE) and dual-echo GRE sequences. The signal intensity variations of the EPI and GRE sequences were compared, and the influence of inflow and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) effects on the signal variations was assessed with the dual-echo GRE sequences. RESULTS: In 11 of the 12 subjects we found activation in the primary motor cortex with both the GRE and EPI sequences. Active voxels had a significantly higher mean percentage of signal changes with the EPI sequence than with the GRE sequence (EPI: 1% to 6.1%, mean 2.4%; GRE: 1% to 4.5%, mean 1.9%). The EPI sequence was less sensitive to motion artifacts and enabled imaging of a larger brain volume in a shorter time. With a dual-echo sequence we found an increasing contribution of inflow effect with an increasing percentage of signal changes. CONCLUSION: Functional MR imaging of the sensorimotor cortex can be routinely performed at 1.0 T.
PURPOSE: The increasing demand for the clinical application of functional MR imaging raises the question of whether this technique can be routinely performed on 1.0-T MR scanners. To this end, we assessed the feasibility of functional MR imaging at 1.0 T. METHODS: Healthy volunteers were scanned during the performance of a motor task. Functional data were acquired with echo-planar imaging (EPI) and with gradient-echo (GRE) and dual-echo GRE sequences. The signal intensity variations of the EPI and GRE sequences were compared, and the influence of inflow and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) effects on the signal variations was assessed with the dual-echo GRE sequences. RESULTS: In 11 of the 12 subjects we found activation in the primary motor cortex with both the GRE and EPI sequences. Active voxels had a significantly higher mean percentage of signal changes with the EPI sequence than with the GRE sequence (EPI: 1% to 6.1%, mean 2.4%; GRE: 1% to 4.5%, mean 1.9%). The EPI sequence was less sensitive to motion artifacts and enabled imaging of a larger brain volume in a shorter time. With a dual-echo sequence we found an increasing contribution of inflow effect with an increasing percentage of signal changes. CONCLUSION: Functional MR imaging of the sensorimotor cortex can be routinely performed at 1.0 T.
Authors: D Jannet Mehagnoul-Schipper; Bas F W van der Kallen; Willy N J M Colier; Marco C van der Sluijs; Leon J Th O van Erning; Henk O M Thijssen; Berend Oeseburg; Willibrord H L Hoefnagels; René W M M Jansen Journal: Hum Brain Mapp Date: 2002-05 Impact factor: 5.038
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Authors: A Boghi; O Rampado; M Bergui; F Avidano; C Manzone; M Coriasco; P Mortara; L Orsi; R Ropolo; G B Bradac Journal: Neuroradiology Date: 2006-08-30 Impact factor: 2.804
Authors: E van de Giessen; P F C Groot; J Booij; W van den Brink; D J Veltman; A J Nederveen Journal: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Date: 2011-02-17 Impact factor: 3.825
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