Technical Improvement of Functional MRI for Clinical Application.
- Author:
Kyung Min LEE
1
;
Soo Hwa LEE
;
Chai Youn KIM
;
Na Young KIM
;
Jae Kyu ROH
;
Kee Hyun CHANG
Author Information
1. Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. kminlee@plaza.snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
functional MRI;
brain activation;
clinical test
- MeSH:
Humans;
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*;
Neuroimaging;
Neurology
- From:Journal of the Korean Neurological Association
1999;17(2):222-227
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Functional MRI is a new neuroimaging method that detects focal blood flow change associated with neural activation. This study aimed at improving it for use as a clinical test. METHODS: We separated image reconstruction from scan acquisition as an off-line process, systematized post-processing stages, and employed SPM96 package for statistical analysis. Tasks easy enough for most neurological patients were designed for activation of motor, somatosensory, visual, and language areas. From twenty consecutive patients admitted to neurology wards, frequency of expected activation and inactivation among defined regions of interest was obtained as a measure of sensitivity and quasi-specificity. RESULTS: It took about 4 minutes for data acquisition per task condition. Thus within half an hour all four tasks were tested in cooperative patients. Post-processing took about an hour per task condition, using PC-based analysis packages. Sensitivity and quasi-specificity were about 70% and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our newly developed method shortened the time for fMRI acquisition and systematized post-scan analysis. Data obtained from patients showed acceptable reliability for clinical use, but further research and improvement should be necessary.
