A Deep Cascade of Convolutional Neural Networks for MR Image Reconstruction

The acquisition of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is inherently slow. Inspired by recent advances in deep learning, we propose a framework for reconstructing MR images from undersampled data using a deep cascade of convolutional neural networks to accelerate the data acquisition process. We show that for Cartesian undersampling of 2D cardiac MR images, the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art compressed sensing approaches, such as dictionary learning-based MRI (DLMRI) reconstruction, in terms of reconstruction error, perceptual quality and reconstruction speed for both 3-fold and 6-fold undersampling. Compared to DLMRI, the error produced by the method proposed is approximately twice as small, allowing to preserve anatomical structures more faithfully. Using our method, each image can be reconstructed in 23 ms, which is fast enough to enable real-time applications

Deep learning-based parameter mapping for joint relaxation and diffusion tensor MR Fingerprinting

Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) enables the simultaneous quantification of multiple properties of biological tissues. It relies on a pseudo-random acquisition and the matching of acquired signal evolutions to a precomputed dictionary. However, the dictionary is not scalable to higher-parametric spaces, limiting MRF to the simultaneous mapping of only a small number of parameters (proton density, T1 and T2 in general). Inspired by diffusion-weighted SSFP imaging, we present a proof-of-concept of a novel MRF sequence with embedded diffusion-encoding gradients along all three axes to efficiently encode orientational diffusion and T1 and T2 relaxation. We take advantage of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to reconstruct multiple quantitative maps from this single, highly undersampled acquisition. We bypass expensive dictionary matching by learning the implicit physical relationships between the spatiotemporal MRF data and the T1, T2 and diffusion tensor parameters. The predicted parameter maps and the derived scalar diffusion metrics agree well with state-of-the-art reference protocols. Orientational diffusion information is captured as seen from the estimated primary diffusion directions. In addition to this, the joint acquisition and reconstruction framework proves capable of preserving tissue abnormalities in multiple sclerosis lesions