Echo-Volume Imaging with Restricted Field-of-View and (k, t)-Space Undersampling: A Fast fMRI Acquisition Technique

Echo-volume imaging (EVI) can offer higher acquisition speed than echo-planar imaging (EPI) but is more sensitive to image distortion and blurring. In this study, we develop an EVI-based fast fMRI acquisition technique by employing three-dimension restricted field-of-view imaging (k-t rFOV-EVI) and (k, t)-space undersampling. Our human fMRI experiments covering the visual cortex demonstrate that k-t rFOV-EVI can provide higher image quality and fMRI detection sensitivity than the simultaneous multi-slice EPI at 2.5-mm-isotropic spatial resolution with a temporal resolution of 240 ms.