The following is a personal selection of my must-see layer-fMRI abstracts presented at ISMRM 2019. If I missed something, please let me know (layerfMRI@gmail.com).
Example analysis pipeline of layer-VASO
In this blog post I want to go through the analysis pipeline of layer-dependent VASO.
I will go through the all the analysis steps that need to be done to go from raw data from the scanner to final layer profiles. The entire thing will take about 30 min (10 min analysis and 20 min explaining and browsing through data).
During the entire analysis pipeline I am using the following software packages: SPM, AFNI, and LAYNII, and gnuplot (if you want fancier plotting tools)
How many layers should I extract?
In this blog post, I want to share my thoughts on the number of layers that should be extracted from any given dataset. I will try to give an overview of how many layers are usually extracted in the field, I’ll describe my personal choices of layer numbers, and I will try to discuss the challenges of layer signal extraction along the way.
‘layer fMRI’, ‘sub-millimeter fMRI’, ‘mesoscopic fMRI’, or ‘cortical depth dependent fMRI’…. Which term should I use?
What’s the best name of our field and what’s the best attributing term for our data? There are many competing options: “Layer fMRI”, “mesoscopic fMRI”, “sub-millimeter fMRI”, “ultra-high resolution fMRI”, “laminar fMRI”, “cortical depth-dependent fMRI”. They differ with respect to how flashy they are, how scientifically appropriate they are, and how popular they are.
In this blog post, I want to review which ones are the most popular ones in the field and also share some thoughts on my favourite candidates.
Edits on March 3rd 2019 with contributions and clarifications taken from Kamil Uludağ, Sri Kashyap and Faruk Gulban.
Registration of high-resolution data
In this blog post Sri Kashyap and I describe how to deal with the registration of high-resolution datasets across days, across different resolutions, and across different sequences.
I am particularly fond of the following two tools: Firstly, ITK-SNAP for visually-guided manual alignment and secondly, using ANTs programs: antsRegistration and antsApplyTransforms.
Intensity projections in LAYNII
Maximum intensity projection and minimum intensity projection can be insightful for mapping of vessels in 3D-slabs. In this post, I describe the application of intensity projections with LAYNII.
TR-FOCI pulse optimisations for SS-SI VASO
CBV-fMRI with VASO is highly dependent on a good inversion contrast. It gives it its CBV sensitivity and is also responsible for most of the VASO specific pitfalls (e.g. inflow, CSF etc. ). And thus, it should be optimized as much as possible.
In this blog post, I want to describe the most important features of a reliable inversion pulse for the application of VASO at 7T with a head transmit coil.
Continue reading “TR-FOCI pulse optimisations for SS-SI VASO”
