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Abstract #1260

Magnetization-Transfer 2D Echo Planar Imaging for 7T Laminar fMRI

Bolin Qin1, Xiao Ma1, Yuhui Chai2, Jianxun Qu3, and Jia-Hong Gao1
1Center for MRI Research, Peking University, Beijing, China, 2Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States, 3MR Research Collaboration, Siemens Healthineers, Beijing, China

Synopsis

Keywords: Mesoscale: columns and layers, High-Field MRI, Magnetization Transfer, fMRI Analysis, Pulse Sequence Design

Motivation: Ultrahigh-field fMRI has achieved sub-millimeter nominal resolution, but macrovascular contributions significantly reduce the spatial specificity of activation, limiting the laminar fMRI applications.

Goal(s): We aim to develop a time-efficient magnetization-transfer (MT) preparation method that is less sensitive to the macrovascular signal changes.

Approach: We designed an MT-preparation module using on-resonance binomial pulses, followed by 2D EPI acquisition. This MT module introduces CBV contrast during activation, reducing sensitivity to blurring effects from draining veins and large pial veins.

Results: MT-EPI shows more localized activation in gray matter compared to BOLD-EPI. The laminar profiles in human V1 and M1 demonstrate higher spatial specificity with MT-EPI.

Impact: The MT-EPI method enhances the spatial specificity in laminar fMRI. It is time-efficient and allows flexible adjustment of MT parameters to optimize the sequence under SAR constraints.

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