Stefan Posse1, 2, Elena Ackley1
1Neurology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States; 2Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
We introduce high-speed multi-echo EVI with 241 ms temporal resolution and investigate the BOLD contrast characteristics of parametric EVI images during visual and motor tasks. Average T2* values in cortical areas ranged from 30-60 ms, consistent with multi-echo EPI. First and second echo images, T2* maps and weighted echo average maps showed strong BOLD activation in visual and motor cortex and supplementary motor area. The S0 maps showed much smaller activation, predominantly in large blood vessels, consistent with localized in-flow effects. Multi-echo multi-slab EVI enables rapid mapping of T2* and sensitive detection of brain activation and in-flow effects.