Clinical evaluation of motion robust reconstruction using deep learning in lung CT

In lung CT imaging, motion artifacts caused by cardiac motion and respiration are common. Recently, CLEAR Motion, a deep learning-based reconstruction method that applies motion correction technology, has been developed. This study aims to quantitatively evaluate the clinical usefulness of CLEAR Motion. A total of 129 lung CT was analyzed, and heart rate, height, weight, and BMI of all patients were obtained from medical records. Images with and without CLEAR Motion were reconstructed, and quantitative evaluation was performed using variance of Laplacian (VL) and PSNR. The difference in VL (DVL) between the two reconstruction methods was used to evaluate which part of the lung field (upper, middle, or lower) CLEAR Motion is effective. To evaluate the effect of motion correction based on patient characteristics, the correlation between body mass index (BMI), heart rate and DVL was determined. Visual assessment of motion artifacts was performed using paired comparisons by 9 radiological technologists. With the exception of one case, VL was higher in CLEAR Motion. Almost all the cases (110 cases) showed large DVL in the lower part. BMI showed a positive correlation with DVL (r = 0.55, p < 0.05), while no differences in DVL were observed based on heart rate. The average PSNR was 35.8 ± 0.92 dB. Visual assessments indicated that CLEAR Motion was preferred in most cases, with an average preference score of 0.96 (p < 0.05). Using Clear Motion allows for obtaining images with fewer motion artifacts in lung CT.