Motion correction in fMRI via registration of individual slices into an anatomical volume

An automated retrospective image registration based on mutual information is adapted to a multislice functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) acquisition protocol to provide accurate motion correction. Motion correction is performed by mapping each slice to an anatomic volume data set acquired in the same fMRI session to accommodate inter-slice head motion. Accuracy of the registration parameters was assessed by registration of simulated MR data of the known truth. The widely used rigid body volume registration approach based on stacked slices from the time series data may hinder statistical accuracy by introducing inaccurate assumptions of no motion between slices for multislice fMRI data. Improved sensitivity and specificity of the fMRI signal from mapping-each-slice-to-volume method is demonstrated in comparison with a stacked-slice correction method by examining functional data from two normal volunteers. The data presented in a standard anatomical coordinate system suggest the reliability of the mapping-each-slice-to-volume method to detect the activation signals consistent between the two subjects.