Submillimeter MR fingerprinting using deep learning-based tissue quantification

Purpose To develop a rapid 2D MR fingerprinting technique with a submillimeter in-plane resolution using a deep learning-based tissue quantification approach. Methods A rapid and high-resolution MR fingerprinting technique was developed for brain T-1 and T-2 quantification. The 2D acquisition was performed using a FISP-based MR fingerprinting sequence and a spiral trajectory with 0.8-mm in-plane resolution. A deep learning-based method was used to replace the standard template matching method for improved tissue characterization. A novel network architecture (i.e., residual channel attention U-Net) was proposed to improve high-resolution details in the estimated tissue maps. Quantitative brain imaging was performed with 5 adults and 2 pediatric subjects, and the performance of the proposed approach was compared with several existing methods in the literature. Results In vivo measurements with both adult and pediatric subjects show that high-quality T-1 and T-2 mapping with 0.8-mm in-plane resolution can be achieved in 7.5 seconds per slice. The proposed deep learning method outperformed existing algorithms in tissue quantification with improved accuracy. Compared with the standard U-Net, high-resolution details in brain tissues were better preserved by the proposed residual channel attention U-Net. Experiments on pediatric subjects further demonstrated the potential of the proposed technique for fast pediatric neuroimaging. Alongside reduced data acquisition time, a 5-fold acceleration in tissue property mapping was also achieved with the proposed method. Conclusion A rapid and high-resolution MR fingerprinting technique was developed, which enables high-quality T-1 and T-2 quantification with 0.8-mm in-plane resolution in 7.5 seconds per slice.