Parallel imaging and convolutional neural network combined fast MR image reconstruction: Applications in low-latency...

To develop and evaluate a parallel imaging and convolutional neural network combined image reconstruction framework for low-latency and high-quality accelerated real-time MR imaging.

Conventional Parallel Imaging reconstruction resolved as gradient descent steps was compacted as network layers and interleaved with convolutional layers in a general convolutional neural network. All parameters of the network were determined during the offline training process, and applied to unseen data once learned. The proposed network was first evaluated for real-time cardiac imaging at 1.5 T and real-time abdominal imaging at 0.35 T, using threefold to fivefold retrospective undersampling for cardiac imaging and threefold retrospective undersampling for abdominal imaging. Then, prospective undersampling with fourfold acceleration was performed on cardiac imaging to compare the proposed method with standard clinically available GRAPPA method and the state-of-the-art L1-ESPIRiT method.

Both retrospective and prospective evaluations confirmed that the proposed network was able to images with a lower noise level and reduced aliasing artifacts in comparison with the single-coil based and L1-ESPIRiT reconstructions for cardiac imaging at 1.5 T, and the GRAPPA and L1-ESPIRiT reconstructions for abdominal imaging at 0.35 T. Using the proposed method, each frame can be reconstructed in less than 100 ms, suggesting its clinical compatibility.

The proposed Parallel Imaging and convolutional neural network combined reconstruction framework is a promising technique that allows low-latency and high-quality real-time MR imaging.