Yujie
Qiu1, Edmund Kwok2, Joseph P. Hornak1
1Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, United States; 2Imaging Science, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States
A new concept for an fMRI phantom is presented where the T2 of a non-viscous, high dielectric constant liquid is changed by the application of an electric field. The electric field aligns the dipoles in the liquid, thus changing the molecular motions and T2. The T2 value of propylene carbonate was changed from 45 to 36 ms by the application of a 116 V/cm electric field. This T2 change will produce a 15% change in the signal, comparable to the 5-20% seen for the BOLD response. This concept may allow changing the T2 at rates comparable to the BOLD response.