Magnetization-transfer can be used to suppress tissue signal but not blood. This sensitises the signal to CBV variations. By minimising TE we can maximise the sensitivity to CBV variation while minimising BOLD contrast. We implemented a short TE (7.5 ms) GE-EPI protocol with MT preparation, and performed a brain activation study on three healthy volunteers using a visual stimulus paradigm. Tissue suppression factors of typically 53% were achieved with MT-on. Both MT-on and -off conditions gave significant activation owing to residual BOLD contrast in MT-off. However, the group level contrast MT-on > MT-off gave standard activation maps with significant activation.
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