TY  - JOUR
A1  - Shrestha, Manoj
A1  - Lee, H. Sean
A1  - Nöth, Ulrike
A1  - Deichmann, Ralf
T1  - A novel sequence to improve auditory functional MRI with variable silent delays
T2  - Magnetic resonance in medicine
N2  - Purpose: Auditory functional MRI (fMRI) often uses silent inter-volume delays for stimulus presentation. However, maintaining the steady-state of the magnetization usually requires constant delays. Here, a novel acquisition scheme dubbed “pre-Saturated EPI using Multiple delays in Steady-state” (SEPIMS) is proposed, using spin saturation at a fixed delay before each volume to maintain steady-state conditions, independent of previous spin history. This concept allows for variable inter-volume delays and thus for flexible stimulus design in auditory fMRI. The purpose was to compare the signal stability of SEPIMS and conventional sparse EPI (CS-EPI). Methods: The saturation module comprises two non-selective adiabatic saturation pulses. The efficiency of the saturation and its effect on the SEPIMS signal stability is tested in vitro and in vivo. Results: Data show that SEPIMS yields the same signal stability as CS-EPI, even for extreme variations between inter-volume delay durations. However, dual saturation pulses are required to achieve sufficiently high saturation efficiency in compartments with long T1 values. Importantly, spoiler gradient pulses after the EPI readout have to be optimized to avoid eddy-current-induced image distortions. Conclusion: The proposed SEPIMS sequence maintains high signal stability in the presence of variable inter-volume durations, thus allowing for flexible stimulus design.
KW  - adiabatic saturation
KW  - auditory fMRI
KW  - scanner noise
KW  - sparse imaging
KW  - steady-state condition
KW  - variable silent delay
Y1  - 2020
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/63845
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-638452
SN  - 1522-2594
N1  - Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
VL  - 85
IS  - 2
SP  - 883
EP  - 896
PB  - Wiley-Liss
CY  - New York, NY [u.a.]
ER  -