A prospective approach to correct for inter-image head rotation in fMRI

Global head motion occurring between successive image acquisitions during a functional MRI time series can corrupt the signal of physiologic brain activation, potentially invalidating interpretation of the final activation map from that particular fMRI time series. By approximating the head as a rigid body, multiaxial global head motion can be decomposed into orthogonal linear and rotational components. This paper describes a method using orbital navigator echoes to provide prospective correction for both through-plane and in-plane inter-image head rotation in functional MRI. The dynamic detection and correction of rotation can be performed in <100 ms. Phantom experiments demonstrate accurate correction of rotational motion over a range of +/-0.36 degrees to +/-12 degrees. Imaging studies in volunteers document the feasibility of real-time prospective correction of rotational motion in vivo. Using a modified receiver operating characteristic method, motion-corrected functional MRI sensorimotor studies incorporating deliberate head rotations are shown to be superior to functional MRI time series acquired under similar conditions but without motion correction.