Investigating the feasibility of resting state functional MRI with GRE EPI on a high performance 0.5 T Scanner

Motivation: Resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) provides vital neurological information in acute care. Goal(s): To demonstrate the feasibility of rs-fMRI at 0.5T. Approach: Repeated rs-fMRI acquisitions of two healthy volunteers (n = 6, n = 4) were acquired at 0.5T using a 31 min EPI based protocol. Results: All eleven well-established resting state networks were identified. Sensorimotor and language networks were very reliable across scans for both volunteers with intersession intra-class correlation coefficient values > 0.5. Impact: Resting state fMRI is feasible at 0.5T with an EPI acquisition technique. The functional connectivity detected resembles a 3T database for well-established resting-state networks.