Divya S. Bolar1,2, A Gregory Sorensen1, Bruce R. Rosen1, Elfar Adalsteinsson1,2
1A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, HST/MGH/HMS/MIT, Charlestown, MA, USA; 2Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
Recent studies suggest that an fMRI technique able to directly evaluate functional changes in absolute venous oxygen saturation may be a more repeatable and physiologically relevant way to assess neuronal activation. A newly developed fMRI technique called QUantitative Imaging of eXtraction of Oxygen and TIssue Consumption (QUIXOTIC) allows direct measurement of venous oxygen saturation, by exclusively targeting signal from venular blood localized to sites of neuronal activity. In this study, we assess the feasibility of using QUIXOTIC to quantitatively measure functional changes in local venous oxygen saturation in response to a visual stimulus.