Essentials of Functional MRI

Patrick. W. Stroman, born in Lethbridge, Alberta, completed a B.Sc. Honours in Physics at the University of Victoria, and then a PhD in Applied Sciences in Medicine, with a focus on magnetic resonance imaging, at the University of Alberta. After 4 years as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Quebec Biomaterials Institute, Laval University, he took a position as a Research Officer at the Institute for Biodiagnostics (IBD), National Research Council of Canada. While at the IBD, he began developing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the spinal cord (spinal fMRI). In 2004 he joined the Centre for Neuroscience Studies, with cross appointments in the Departments of Physics and Diagnostic Radiology and became the Director of the new Queen’s MRI Facility. He held a Canada Research Chair in Imaging Physics (2004-2014). He is now a professor and leads a research program that remains focused on the development of spinal cord and brainstem fMRI as a tool for clinical assessments and pain research.

• 1.Introduction. 2.Basic Concepts. 3.Source of the MR Signal and its Properties. 4.The Fundamental Building Blocks of MR Imaging Methods: Spin-Echoes and Gradient-Echoes. 5.Creating an Image from the MR Signal. 6.Principles and Practice of Functional MRI. 7.Functional MRI Study Design. 8.Functional MRI Data Analysis. 9.Clinical Applications of Functional MRI. 10.Glossary of Terms.