Short- and long-term reproducibility of BOLD signal change induced by breath-holding at 1.5 and 3 T.

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) can give insight into the cerebrovascular function. CVR can be estimated by measuring a blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) response combined with breath-holding (BH). The reproducibility of this technique has been addressed and existing studies have focused on short-term reproducibility using a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. However, little is known about the long-term reproducibility of this procedure and the corresponding reproducibility using a 1.5 T MRI system. Here, we systematically examined the short- and long-term reproducibility of BOLD responses to BH across field strengths. Nine subjects participated in three MRI sessions separated by 30 minutes (sessions 1 and 2: short term) and 68-92 days (sessions 1 and 3, long term) at both 1.5 and 3 T MRI. Our findings revealed that significant differences between field strengths were detected in the activated gray matter volume and BOLD signal change (both P < 0.001), with smaller magnitudes at 1.5 T. However, activation patterns were reproducible, independent of the time interval, brain region or field strength. All interscan coefficient of variation values were below the 33% fiducial limit, and the intraclass correlation coefficient values were above 0.4, which is usually considered the acceptability limit in functional studies. These findings suggest that the response of BOLD signal to BH for assessing CVR is reproducible over time at 1.5 and 3 T. This technique can be considered a tool for monitoring longitudinal changes in patients with cerebrovascular diseases, and its use should be encouraged for clinical 1.5 T MRI systems.