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Simulations of the effect of diffusion on asymmetric spin echo based quantitative BOLD: An investigation of the origin of deoxygenated blood volume overestimation

Stone, Alan J.; Holland, Naomi C.; Berman, Avery J.L.; Blockley, Nicholas P.

Authors

Alan J. Stone

Naomi C. Holland

Avery J.L. Berman

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NIC BLOCKLEY Nicholas.Blockley@nottingham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor



Abstract

Quantitative BOLD (qBOLD) is a technique for mapping oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) and deoxygenated blood volume (DBV) in the human brain. Recent measurements using an asymmetric spin echo (ASE) based qBOLD approach produced estimates of DBV which were systematically higher than measurements from other techniques. In this study, we investigate two hypotheses for the origin of this DBV overestimation using simulations and consider the implications for experimental measurements. Investigations were performed by combining Monte Carlo simulations of extravascular signal with an analytical model of the intravascular signal.

Hypothesis 1: DBV overestimation is due to the presence of intravascular signal which is not accounted for in the analysis model. Intravascular signal was found to have a weak effect on qBOLD parameter estimates.

Hypothesis 2: DBV overestimation is due to the effects of diffusion which are not accounted for in the analysis model. The effect of diffusion on the extravascular signal was found to result in a vessel radius dependent variation in qBOLD parameter estimates. In particular, DBV overestimation peaks for vessels with radii from 20 to 30 μm and is OEF dependent. This results in the systematic underestimation of OEF.

Implications: The impact on experimental qBOLD measurements was investigated by simulating a more physiologically realistic distribution of vessel sizes with a small number of discrete radii. Overestimation of DBV consistent with previous experiments was observed, which was also found to be OEF dependent. This results in the progressive underestimation of the measured OEF. Furthermore, the relationship between the measured OEF and the true OEF was found to be dependent on echo time and spin echo displacement time.

The results of this study demonstrate the limitations of current ASE based qBOLD measurements and provide a foundation for the optimisation of future acquisition approaches.

Citation

Stone, A. J., Holland, N. C., Berman, A. J., & Blockley, N. P. (2019). Simulations of the effect of diffusion on asymmetric spin echo based quantitative BOLD: An investigation of the origin of deoxygenated blood volume overestimation. NeuroImage, 201, Article 116035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116035

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 17, 2019
Online Publication Date Jul 19, 2019
Publication Date Nov 1, 2019
Deposit Date Jul 19, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal NeuroImage
Print ISSN 1053-8119
Electronic ISSN 1095-9572
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 201
Article Number 116035
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116035
Keywords Quantitative BOLD; Magnetic resonance imaging; Monte Carlo simulation
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2323422
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811919306160?via%3Dihub

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