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Abstract:
To fully understand the neurovascular fingerprint observed in BOLD experiments, extravascular and intravascular contributions have to be identified separately. Balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) imaging has demonstrated the ability for distortion-free fMRI with high microvascular sensitivity. However, the underlying intravascular contribution to BOLD bSSFP is not yet entirely known as literature R2 relaxation rates do not reflect the apparent diffusion-related R2 decrease in blood with shorter bSSFP refocusing intervals (TRs). This work thus focuses on characterizing the oxygen sensitivity of bSSFP in blood samples at high to ultra-high fields by means of passband signal differences and intrinsic R2 estimation.
