EPTIMA: Echo Planar Time-resolved Imaging derived Millisecond-scale temporal resolution Acquisition

Motivation: Achieving millisecond-scale temporal resolution MRI has the potential to provide exciting insights into fast functional/physiological processes of the brain. Goal(s): Develop a new acquisition method, EPTIMA, that can achieve millisecond-scale temporal resolution, while improving efficiency by acquiring a time-series trial of 2D-images in a single excitation for high robustness to physiological-noise/motion. Approach: EPTIMA captures fast temporal dynamics occurring within the readout by measuring the rate at which the baseline signal evolution is changing, and employs spatiotemporal encodings to acquire a complete time-series trial in a single-excitation. Results: EPTIMA can image rapid electric current changes in a phantom and resolve stable phase/magnitude changes in-vivo. Impact: A new acquisition, EPTIMA, was developed to achieve millisecond-scale temporal resolution and to image ultra-fast dynamic processes of human brain. It improves efficiency by acquiring a time-series trial of 2D-images in a single excitation with high robustness to motion/physiological noises.