Fast and large coverage lower extremity perfusion evaluation with dual-echo EPI enabled blood oxygen level dependent technique

Motivation: Lower extremity reactive hyperemia BOLD have been used to evaluate the skeletal muscle perfusion status. The existing methods, such as multi-echo GRE and single-echo EPI, have limitations in terms of spatial coverage and signal quantification. Goal(s): The study aims to apply dual-echo multi-band EPI to achieve high temporal and spatial resolution, and large coverage in BOLD experiment. Approach: The study applied dual-echo EPI to sample the T2* along the reactive hyperemia experiment. Images at TE of zero were synthesized to investigate the intrinsic signal change. Results: The proposed method can provide semi-quantitative indicators of the perfusion status of the lower extremity skeletal muscle. Impact: This work demonstrates the advantages of dual echo EPI acquisition for lower extremity reactive hyperemia experiments. Compared to the commonly used acquisition strategies, the proposed one can be used to enhance the quality and efficiency of lower extremity perfusion imaging.