Robin Martin Heidemann1, Dimo Ivanov1,
Robert Trampel1, Joeran Lepsien1, Fabrizio Fasano2,
Josef Pfeuffer3, Robert Turner1
1Max Planck Institute for Human
Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; 2Fondazione Santa
Lucia, Rome, Italy; 3Siemens Healthcare Sector, Erlangen, Germany
For
isotropic high resolution fMRI at ultra-high field strength, susceptibility
effects and T2* decay must be properly addressed. A combination of reduced
FOV imaging (zoomed imaging) and parallel imaging is optimized here,
achieving acceleration factors of up to 5.5. The high acceleration reduces
distortions and image blurring, while incurring no other image artifacts.
With this approach, high quality single-shot EPI acquisitions can be obtained
with an isotropic resolution of 0.65 mm and sufficient coverage for e.g. fMRI
in the visual cortex of the human brain.