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Best Current Practice for Obtaining High Quality EEG Data During Simultaneous fMRI
Published on: June 3, 2013
Simultaneous intracranial EEG-fMRI in humans: protocol considerations and data quality
D W Carmichael1, S Vulliemoz, R Rodionov
1Imaging and Biophysics Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK. d.carmichael@ucl.ac.uk
Neuroimage
|June 2, 2012
Summary
Simultaneous intracranial EEG and fMRI (icEEG-fMRI) in epilepsy patients showed minimal electrode heating (≤0.1 °C) and preserved EEG quality. fMRI signal loss around electrodes was limited to a 10mm radius, suggesting susceptibility artifacts guide optimization.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Simultaneous intracranial EEG and fMRI (icEEG-fMRI) is a powerful tool for epilepsy research.
- Potential challenges include electrode heating and MRI-induced artifacts affecting signal quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess thermometric data for electrode heating during icEEG-fMRI.
- To quantify EEG and fMRI signal quality around electrodes during MRI scanning.
- To characterize MRI artifacts and guide interpretation and optimization strategies.
Main Methods:
- Performed simultaneous icEEG-fMRI in epilepsy patients.
- Measured in-vitro electrode heating and quantified EEG quality.
- Acquired GE-EPI fMRI images at 1.5 T to assess signal intensity reduction around electrodes.
Main Results:
- In-vitro electrode heating was minimal (≤0.1 °C), significantly below safety limits.
- EEG quality was largely preserved, with minor heartbeat artifacts.
- fMRI signal reduction was confined to a 10mm radius around electrodes, averaging <50% at 5mm.
- Artifacts were predominantly susceptibility-related, influenced by electrode orientation.
Conclusions:
- icEEG-fMRI is technically feasible with minimal safety concerns regarding electrode heating.
- MRI-induced artifacts are localized and predictable, primarily due to magnetic susceptibility.
- Findings aid in interpreting icEEG-fMRI data and developing artifact reduction techniques.
