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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
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