Coil-to-coil physiological noise correlations and their impact on functional MRI time-series signal-to-noise ratio.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Physiological nuisance fluctuations ("physiological noise") are a major contribution to the time-series signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR) of functional imaging. While thermal noise correlations between array coil elements have a well-characterized effect on the image Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR₀ ), the element-to-element covariance matrix of the time-series fluctuations has not yet been analyzed. We examine this effect with a goal of ultimately improving the combination of multichannel array data.

Theory and methods

We extend the theoretical relationship between tSNR and SNR₀ to include a time-series noise covariance matrix Ψ_t , distinct from the thermal noise covariance matrix Ψ₀ , and compare its structure to Ψ₀ and

SUBMITTER: Triantafyllou C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5565210 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature