The Effect of Dissolved O2 on the Susceptibility of Blood

What is it about?

How dissolved oxygen affects the magnetic susceptibility of solutions, such as blood and water. This is particularly focused on oxygen's impact in blood oxygenation level-dependent functional MRI studies.

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Why is it important?

In this study, we showed that the change in the susceptibility of blood due to dissolved oxygen is negligible compared to the change arising from deoxyhemoglobin when a participant inhales elevated levels of oxygen. This resolved the issue of whether or not dissolved O2 in arteries would contribute to the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) MRI signal, where it is traditionally assumed that deoxyhemoglobin in capillaries and arteries alone contribute to the BOLD signal.