Guoying Liu

Functional brain MR imaging based on bolus tracking with a fast T2∗-sensitized gradient-echo method

Dynamic physiological scanning, based on temporary changes in local field homogeneity during the passage of a contrast agent bolus, has been performed hitherto with echo-planar imaging (EPI) or conventional gradient-recalled techniques (FLASH). Here, it is shown that the T2* sensitivity of conventional FLASH techniques can be improved drastically on a conventional whole body instrument by delaying the gradient-echo until the subsequent TR-period without increasing total imaging time. Examples are given for a full k-space matrix (128 x 256) obtained within 2 s with a TE of 25 ms, resulting in images free of artifacts. The method is applied to bolus tracking through the brain of healthy volunteers during visual stimulation and in the dark. An average increase of regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) in the visual cortex of 10.9% (n = 9, p = .001) was found.

The PRESTO technique for fMRI.

In the early days of BOLD fMRI, the acquisition of T(2)(*) weighted data was greatly facilitated by rapid scan techniques such as EPI. The latter, however, was only available on a few MRI systems that were equipped with specialized hardware that allowed rapid switching of the imaging gradients. For this reason, soon after the invention of fMRI, the scan technique PRESTO was developed to make rapid T(2)(*) weighted scanning available on standard clinical scanners. This method combined echo shifting, which allows for echo times longer than the sequence repetition time, with acquisition of multiple k-space lines per excitation. These two concepts were combined in order to achieve a method fast enough for fMRI, while maintaining a sufficiently long echo time for optimal contrast. PRESTO has been primarily used for 3D scanning, which minimized the contribution of large vessels due to inflow effects. Although PRESTO is still being used today, its appeal has lessened somewhat due to increased gradient performance of modern MRI scanners. Compared to 2D EPI, PRESTO may have somewhat reduced temporal stability, which is a disadvantage for fMRI that may not outweigh the advantage of reduced inflow effects provided by 3D scanning. In this overview, the history of the development of the PRESTO is presented, followed by a qualitative comparison with EPI.

PRESTO, a Rapid 3D Approach for Functional MRI of Human Brain

Ogawa et al. [1, 2] proposed in 1990 that physiological information related to neuronal activity can be incorporated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) based on changes in the concentration of deoxyhemoglobin in blood (blood oxygenation level dependent, or BOLD effect). As compared to positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), BOLD fMRI offers substantial advantages: minimal discomfort, no exposure to ionizing radiation and excellent spatial and temporal resolution. Several studies have now demonstrated that sensory and language functions can be mapped with fMRI.