Reproducibility of visual activation in functional magnetic resonance imaging at very high field strength (4 Tesla).

Purpose: The reproducibility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been studied on 1.5 Tesla (T) (high field strength) scanners. We report the reproducibility of visual activation in fMRI at 4 T (very high field strength).

Methods: Five healthy subjects were scanned twice in the same session with a 4 T scanner during binocular flashing visual stimulation. The activated areas during the first and second acquisition were compared.

Results: Activation of the visual cortex was observed in all subjects and activation of lateral geniculate nucleus was also detected in four subjects. The ratio of overlapping activated voxels in the first and second acquisition was 0.81 +/- 0.05.

Conclusions: Reproducibility of visual activation using fMRI at 4 T was found to be acceptable, and the results from 4T scanners show a reliability similar to those at 1.5 T.