T1-weighted functional imaging based on a contrast agent in presurgical mapping

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Radiology

Background:

• Blood oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) imaging is a standard for functional MRI.
• BOLD imaging is susceptible to magnetic susceptibility artifacts, limiting its use in certain brain regions or patient groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate T1-weighted imaging with a contrast agent (TOFICA) as an alternative functional mapping technique.
• To compare TOFICA with BOLD imaging, focusing on artifact reduction and applicability.

Main Methods:

• Six patients and five controls underwent BOLD and TOFICA functional imaging with Gd-DTPA contrast.
• Motor and language tasks were used as functional stimuli.
• Low- and high-resolution BOLD images were acquired in controls.

Main Results:

• Both BOLD and TOFICA demonstrated activation in expected brain areas.
• TOFICA showed less distributed activation and higher percent signal changes than BOLD.
• TOFICA successfully mapped activation in a patient with surgical clips where BOLD failed due to susceptibility artifacts.

Conclusions:

• T1-weighted imaging with contrast agents is a viable method for functional brain mapping.
• This technique is insensitive to susceptibility artifacts, making it superior to BOLD for presurgical planning and imaging near brain cavities.