SynBOLD-DisCo: synthetic BOLD images for distortion correction of fMRI without additional calibration scans

Summary

This conference paper introduces SynBOLD-DisCo, using a 3D U-Net to synthesize undistorted BOLD images for fMRI susceptibility correction. It is the proceedings contribution preceding the expanded 2023 journal study.

Study overview

A synthetic BOLD-contrast target allows FSL topup to correct single-phase-encoding fMRI when field maps or reverse-encoding images are absent. Evaluation shows improved alignment with structural anatomy and performance close to correction using reverse phase-encoded data. This separately published SPIE contribution precedes the expanded journal article.

Main findings

• A 3D U-Net supplied an undistorted target for topup correction.
• The proceedings paper and subsequent journal article are distinct publications.