De-noising of Contrast-Enhanced MRI Sequences by an Ensemble of Expert Deep Neural Networks

Abstract

Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) is an imaging protocol where MRI scans are acquired repetitively throughout the injection of a contrast agent. The analysis of dynamic scans is widely used for the detection and quantification of blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability. Extraction of the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters from the DCE-MRI washout curves allows quantitative assessment of the BBB functionality. Nevertheless, curve fitting required for the analysis of DCE-MRI data is error-prone as the dynamic scans are subject to non-white, spatially-dependent and anisotropic noise that does not fit standard noise models. The two existing approaches i.e. curve smoothing and image de-noising can either produce smooth curves but cannot guaranty fidelity to the PK model or cannot accommodate the high variability in noise statistics in time and space.