DP-MDM: detail-preserving MR reconstruction via multiple diffusion models

Objective.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is critical in medical diagnosis and treatment by capturing detailed features, such as subtle tissue changes, which help clinicians make precise diagnoses. However, the widely used single diffusion model has limitations in accurately capturing more complex details. This study aims to address these limitations by proposing an efficient method to enhance the reconstruction of detailed features in MRI.Approach.We present a detail-preserving reconstruction method that leverages multiple diffusion models (DP-MDM) to extract structural and detailed features in the k-space domain, which complements the image domain. Since high-frequency information in k-space is more systematically distributed around the periphery compared to the irregular distribution of detailed features in the image domain, this systematic distribution allows for more efficient extraction of detailed features. To further reduce redundancy and enhance model performance, we introduce virtual binary masks with adjustable circular center windows that selectively focus on high-frequency regions. These masks align with the frequency distribution of k-space data, enabling the model to focus more efficiently on high-frequency information. The proposed method employs a cascaded architecture, where the first diffusion model recovers low-frequency structural components, with subsequent models enhancing high-frequency details during the iterative reconstruction stage.Main results.Experimental results demonstrate that DP-MDM achieves superior performance across multiple datasets. On theT1-GE braindataset with 2D random sampling atR= 15, DP-MDM achieved 35.14 dB peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and 0.8891 structural similarity (SSIM), outperforming other methods. The proposed method also showed robust performance on theFast-MRIandCardiac MRdatasets, achieving the highest PSNR and SSIM values.Significance.DP-MDM significantly advances MRI reconstruction by balancing structural integrity and detail preservation. It not only enhances diagnostic accuracy through improved image quality but also offers a versatile framework that can potentially be extended to other imaging modalities, thereby broadening its clinical applicability.