BOLD signal simulation and fMRI quality control base on an active phantom: a preliminary study

Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal has been commonly used in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe the activity in different areas of the brain or other organs. This signal is difficult to simulate, because its amplitude is nearly 1~3% and it is influenced by multiple factors. This study aimed to design and construct an active BOLD simulation phantom and test its stability and repeatability. The phantom consisted of two perpendicular loops. The BOLD signal was simulated by different stimuli generated by a regular periodic vibration current and transmission loops. Three scanners (Siemens skyra 3.0 T, Siemens verio 3.0 T, and GE signa HD 1.5 T) were used to test the stability and repeatability of the BOLD signal detection of the phantom. The percent signal change (PSC) was calculated for each stimulus. At baseline, the phantom exhibited stability, and the average signal variation was below 1% as revealed by the three scanners. The SNR of ROIs with different sizes were markedly high, being 2326.58 and 2389.24; and the ghosting ratio were 0.39% and 0.38%, and the stimuli detection efficiency for Siemens verio and Siemens skyra was 60% and 75%, respectively. The repeated scans of the same scanner for different stimuli were highly reproducible. In the three scanners, the PSC at the same location varied from nearly 1 to 3%. The areas activated on the phantom revealed by different scanners were comparatively consistent. The phantom designed for fMRI quantitative quality control displays good adaptability to different scanners and is easy to operate. It can reliably collect data by simple data processing. Graphical abstract fMRI phantom testing process.