Discovery mr750 3t mri scanner

The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI data were acquired with an 8-channel standard quadrature head coil on a Discovery MR750 3 T MRI scanner (GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, WI, USA) using the following parameters: percent phase field view = 100, flip angle = 90°, TE = 30 ms, TR = 2000 ms, FOV = 300 × 300 mm; matrix = 64 × 64, thickness = 3.5 mm, spacing between slices = 4.2 mm, and slices = 33, 8 min. Meanwhile, whole-brain high-spatial resolution 3D T1-weighted images were obtained for coregistration and anatomical location purposes using the following pulse sequence: TE = 3.18 ms, TR = 8.16 ms, FOV = 256 × 256 mm, flip angle = 12°, matrix = 256 × 256, slice thickness = 1 mm, interslice gap = 0 mm, and 168 slices.
For patients with acute traumatic coma, the MRI scan was performed as soon (approximately 2 weeks after admission) as the patient was clinically stable for transport to the scanner, as determined and accompanied by full-time neurosurgeons with specific training in critical care. All patients who received drug sedation (e.g., benzodiazepine or opioid) underwent a washout period for at least 24 h before the MRI scan. Meanwhile, the MRI data for healthy controls were acquired with the same scanning procedures.

Scanning was performed on a GE Healthcare Discovery MR750 3T MRI scanner at the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Center for Imaging Research. Stimulus presentation and response recording were performed via E-prime 2.0 software running on a Windows desktop computer and a Psychology Software Tools Serial Response Box. Stimuli were back-projected on a screen positioned behind the scanner bore and viewed through a mirror attached to the head coil.