Functional imaging with intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) is demonstrated. Images were acquired at 3 Tesla using a standard Stejskal-Tanner
diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging sequence with multiple b-values. Cerebro-spinal
fluid signal, which is highly incoherent, was suppressed with an inversion recovery
preparation pulse. IVIM microvascular perfusion parameters were calculated according to a
two-compartment (vascular and non-vascular) diffusion model. The results obtained in 8 …

Intravoxel Incoherent Motion MRI allows quantitative measurement of microvascular blood
flow, and could therefore potentially have a higher spatial correlation with neuronal
activation than the currently used BOLD technique. We demonstrate functional imaging with
IVIM in the visual human brain, and present quantitative analysis showing increase in IVIM
perfusion parameters during visual stimulation, in both the visual cortex, as well as, to a
lesser extend, in the subcortical white matter.