Prospective Motion Correction of Functional MRI Using Markerless Tracking

Motivation: Head motion during fMRI causes significant artifacts, disrupting activation patterns, particularly in clinical settings where realistic, challenging motion is common. Existing methods inadequately address within-volume motion, impacting clinical usability. Goal(s): This study evaluates the effectiveness of prospective motion correction (PMC) in real-time compensation of head motion artifacts in fMRI, enhancing reliability under clinical conditions. Approach: We assessed PMC-enabled fMRI scans in three volunteers performing controlled head motion, comparing activation and tSNR maps across PMC-on and PMC-off conditions. Results: PMC improved tSNR and restored motor cortex activation disrupted by motion, recovering some activation in the primary expected areas, suggesting PMC's potential for clinical application. Impact: While PMC shows potential for improving fMRI reliability in clinical settings, enhancing brain mapping despite patient motion, these findings should be approached cautiously. Further research into real-time motion tracking integration is essential, especially for patients with limited motion control.