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Abstract:
The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is currently the most popular imaging
method to study brain function non-invasively. The sensitivity of the BOLD signal to different types of MRI sequences and vessel sizes is currently under
investigation [1]. Gradient echo (GRE) sequences are known to be sensitive to larger vessels (venules and veins), whereas spin-echo (SE) sequences
are generally more sensitive to smaller vessels (venules and capillaries), especially at high magnetic field strength [2, 3]. However, the widely used
single vessel model is only an approximation to the realistic vascular distribution. Realistic vascular models have been proposed by Marques and
Bowtell [4] and, recently, by Chen et al.[5]. We herein present a realistic vascular model (RVM) where diffusion is accounted for by a Monte-Carlo
random walk.
