We tested noninvasive methods to measure absolute oxygen metabolism (CMRO2) in both baseline and activation states without the use of special gases: VSEAN to measure baseline O2 extraction fraction (OEF), and FLAIR-GESSE to measure R2’ to estimate the scaling parameter M. Primary findings were: M derived from R2’ had less variation across subjects compared to hypercapnia-derived M; OEF values were in good agreement with previous PET findings; and, variation of baseline CBF/CMRO2 coupling across subjects does not follow activation coupling, suggesting different mechanisms may be involved. These results support the potential of gas-free methods for quantitative physiological measurements.
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