Purpose
The purpose of this study was to test the technical feasibility and the impact on the image quality of a deep learning-based super-resolution reconstruction algorithm in 1.5 T abdominopelvic MR imaging.
Methods
44 patients who underwent abdominopelvic MRI were retrospectively included, of which 4 had to be subsequently excluded. After the acquisition of the conventional volume interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE
Std), images underwent postprocessing, using a deep learning-based iterative denoising super-resolution reconstruction algorithm for partial Fourier acquisitions (VIBE
SR). Image analysis of 40 patients with a mean age of 56 years (range 18–84 years) was performed qualitatively by two radiologists independently using a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5, where 5 was considered the best rating.
Results
Image analysis showed an improvement of image quality, noise, sharpness of the organs and lymph nodes, and sharpness of the intestine for pre- and postcontrast images in VIBE
SR compared to VIBE
Std (each
p < 0.001). Lesion detectability was better for VIBE
SR (
p < 0.001), while there were no differences concerning the number of lesions. Average acquisition time was 16 s (±1) for the upper abdomen and 15 s (±1) for the pelvis for VIBE
Std, and 15 s (±1) for the upper abdomen and 14 s (±1) for the pelvis for VIBE
SR.
Conclusion
This study demonstrated the technical feasibility of a deep learning-based super-resolution algorithm including partial Fourier technique in abdominopelvic MR images and illustrated a significant improvement of image quality, noise, and sharpness while reducing TA.