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Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Venous oxygen saturation (Yv) in cerebral veins and the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) are important indicators for brain function and disease. Phase-susceptibility measurements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been used to quantify Yv in candidate cerebral veins. However, currently there is no method to quantify regional CMRO 2 using MRI. Here we propose a novel technique to quantify CMRO2 from independent MRI estimates of Yv and cerebral blood flow (CBF). Our approach used standard gradient-echo (GRE) and arterial spin labeling (ASL) to make these measurements. Results for in vivo Y, and CMRO2 estimates on human subjects are presented from application of our technique at 3 Tesla (3T). We also extended our method to high-field human imaging at 7 Tesla (7T), which allows us to take advantage of improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the same scan duration to achieve higher-resolution analysis of vessels of interest. While the higher field strength poses additional challenges, such as increased main field and excitation field inhomogeneities as well as mor