Simultaneous ultra-high field fMRI and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping: technical challenges and potential for insights into structural-functional relationships in the brain

Associate Professor Simon Robinson,
Medical University of Vienna, Medical University of Graz and
The University of Queensland joins us to present:

Simultaneous ultra-high field fMRI and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping: technical challenges and potential for insights into structural-functional relationships in the brain

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is used to study brain function and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) to image veins, iron and other tissues with distinct magnetic susceptibilities. I will talk about the challenges involved in generating fMRI and QSM data from a single MRI scan, and consider the possibilities simultaneous fMRI-QSM might open up in investigating disruptions to normal functional-structural relationships in the human brain.

fMRI and QSM differ in the acquisition methods that have generally been used to provide the data and the physiological functions and structures they allow to be imaged. Until recently, fMRI has generally used a time series of low spatial resolution 2D Echo Planar Imaging (EPI) scans to achieve the required temporal resolution. QSM, in contrast, has used a single 3D high resolution scan. fMRI can provide insight into dysfunction in task processing and functional connectivity in neurodegenerative disorders, while QSM shows changes to myelin, iron accumulation and vascular involvement. 

The Barth group has pioneered the use of highly accelerated 3D EPI for fMRI and QSM, while my own group has developed methods for combining the phase data from radiofrequency coils used to measure the signal in MRI. During a two year sabbatical at UQ from the Medical Universities of Vienna and Graz, I intend to combine these approaches to develop a 3D EPI-based fMRI-QSM sequence capable of high resolution mapping of brain activation and magnetic susceptibility. I will conclude by looking at possible additional insights and limitations of fMRI-QSM in investigating neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis.