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Lemainque T, Yoneyama M, Morsch C, Iordanishvili E, Barabasch A, Schulze-Hagen M, Peeters JM, Kuhl C, Zhang S. Reduction of ADC bias in diffusion MRI with deep learning-based acceleration: A phantom validation study at 3.0 T. Magn Reson Imaging 2024; 110:96-103. [PMID: 38631532 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2024.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Further acceleration of DWI in diagnostic radiology is desired but challenging mainly due to low SNR in high b-value images and associated bias in quantitative ADC values. Deep learning-based reconstruction and denoising may provide a solution to address this challenge. METHODS The effects of SNR reduction on ADC bias and variability were investigated using a commercial diffusion phantom and numerical simulations. In the phantom, performance of different reconstruction methods, including conventional parallel (SENSE) imaging, compressed sensing (C-SENSE), and compressed SENSE acceleration with an artificial intelligence deep learning-based technique (C-SENSE AI), was compared at different acceleration factors and flip angles using ROI-based analysis. ADC bias was assessed by Lin's Concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) followed by bootstrapping to calculate confidence intervals (CI). ADC random measurement error (RME) was assessed by the mean coefficient of variation (CV¯) and non-parametric statistical tests. RESULTS The simulations predicted increasingly negative bias and loss of precision towards lower SNR. These effects were confirmed in phantom measurements of increasing acceleration, for which CCC decreased from 0.947 to 0.279 and CV¯ increased from 0.043 to 0.439, and of decreasing flip angle, for which CCC decreased from 0.990 to 0.063 and CV¯ increased from 0.037 to 0.508. At high acceleration and low flip angle, C-SENSE AI reconstruction yielded best denoised ADC maps. For the lowest investigated flip angle, CCC = {0.630, 0.771 and 0.987} and CV¯={0.508, 0.426 and 0.254} were obtained for {SENSE, C-SENSE, C-SENSE AI}, the improvement by C-SENSE AI being significant as compared to the other methods (CV: p = 0.033 for C-SENSE AI vs. C-SENSE and p < 0.001 for C-SENSE AI vs. SENSE; CCC: non-overlapping CI between reconstruction methods). For the highest investigated acceleration factor, CCC = {0.479,0.926,0.960} and CV¯={0.519,0.119,0.118} were found, confirming the reduction of bias and RME by C-SENSE AI as compared to C-SENSE (by trend) and to SENSE (CV: p < 0.001; CCC: non-overlapping CI). CONCLUSION ADC bias and random measurement error in DWI at low SNR, typically associated with scan acceleration, can be effectively reduced by deep-learning based C-SENSE AI reconstruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Lemainque
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
| | | | - Chiara Morsch
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Elene Iordanishvili
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Alexandra Barabasch
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Maximilian Schulze-Hagen
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Christiane Kuhl
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Shuo Zhang
- Philips GmbH Market DACH, Hamburg, Germany
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Baskaya F, Lemainque T, Klinkhammer B, Koletnik S, von Stillfried S, Talbot SR, Boor P, Schulz V, Lederle W, Kiessling F. Pathophysiologic Mapping of Chronic Liver Diseases With Longitudinal Multiparametric MRI in Animal Models. Invest Radiol 2024:00004424-990000000-00209. [PMID: 38598653 DOI: 10.1097/rli.0000000000001075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Chronic liver diseases (CLDs) have diverse etiologies. To better classify CLDs, we explored the ability of longitudinal multiparametric MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in depicting alterations in liver morphology, inflammation, and hepatocyte and macrophage activity in murine high-fat diet (HFD)- and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced CLD models. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mice were either untreated, fed an HFD for 24 weeks, or injected with CCl4 for 8 weeks. Longitudinal multiparametric MRI was performed every 4 weeks using a 7 T MRI scanner, including T1/T2 relaxometry, morphological T1/T2-weighted imaging, and fat-selective imaging. Diffusion-weighted imaging was applied to assess fibrotic remodeling and T1-weighted and T2*-weighted dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI using gadoxetic acid and ferucarbotran to target hepatocytes and the mononuclear phagocyte system, respectively. Imaging data were associated with histopathological and serological analyses. Principal component analysis and clustering were used to reveal underlying disease patterns. RESULTS The MRI parameters significantly correlated with histologically confirmed steatosis, fibrosis, and liver damage, with varying importance. No single MRI parameter exclusively correlated with 1 pathophysiological feature, underscoring the necessity for using parameter patterns. Clustering revealed early-stage, model-specific patterns. Although the HFD model exhibited pronounced liver fat content and fibrosis, the CCl4 model indicated reduced liver fat content and impaired hepatocyte and macrophage function. In both models, MRI biomarkers of inflammation were elevated. CONCLUSIONS Multiparametric MRI patterns can be assigned to pathophysiological processes and used for murine CLD classification and progression tracking. These MRI biomarker patterns can directly be explored clinically to improve early CLD detection and differentiation and to refine treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferhan Baskaya
- From the Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany (F.B., T.L., S.K., V.S., W.L., F.K.); Department for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany (T.L.); Institute of Pathology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany (B.K., S.S., P.B.); and Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany (S.R.T.)
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Huppertz MS, Lemainque T, Yüksel C, Siepmann R, Kuhl C, Roemer F, Truhn D, Nebelung S. [Current MR imaging of cartilage in the context of knee osteoarthritis (part 2) : Cartilage pathologies and their assessment]. Radiologie (Heidelb) 2024; 64:304-311. [PMID: 38170243 DOI: 10.1007/s00117-023-01253-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
High-quality magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is essential for the precise assessment of the knee joint and plays a key role in the diagnostics, treatment and prognosis. Intact cartilage tissue is characterized by a smooth surface, uniform tissue thickness and an organized zonal structure, which are manifested as depth-dependent signal intensity variations. Cartilage pathologies are identifiable through alterations in signal intensity and morphology and should be communicated based on a precise terminology. Cartilage pathologies can show hyperintense and hypointense signal alterations. Cartilage defects are assessed based on their depth and should be described in terms of their location and extent. The following symptom constellations are of overarching clinical relevance in image reading and interpretation: symptom constellations associated with rapidly progressive forms of joint degeneration and unfavorable prognosis, accompanying symptom constellations mostly in connection with destabilizing meniscal lesions and subchondral insufficiency fractures (accelerated osteoarthritis) as well as symptoms beyond the "typical" degeneration, especially when a discrepancy is observed between (minor) structural changes and (major) synovitis and effusion (inflammatory arthropathy).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Sebastian Huppertz
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Teresa Lemainque
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Can Yüksel
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Robert Siepmann
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Christiane Kuhl
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Frank Roemer
- Radiologisches Institut, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen & Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Deutschland
- Department of Radiology, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel Truhn
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Sven Nebelung
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland.
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Lemainque T, Huppertz MS, Yüksel C, Siepmann R, Kuhl C, Roemer F, Truhn D, Nebelung S. [Current MR imaging of cartilage in the context of knee osteoarthritis (part 1) : Principles and sequences]. Radiologie (Heidelb) 2024; 64:295-303. [PMID: 38158404 DOI: 10.1007/s00117-023-01252-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the clinical method of choice for cartilage imaging in the context of degenerative and nondegenerative joint diseases. The MRI-based definitions of osteoarthritis rely on the detection of osteophytes, cartilage pathologies, bone marrow edema and meniscal lesions but currently a scientific consensus is lacking. In the clinical routine proton density-weighted, fat-suppressed 2D turbo spin echo sequences with echo times of 30-40 ms are predominantly used, which are sufficiently sensitive and specific for the assessment of cartilage. The additionally acquired T1-weighted sequences are primarily used for evaluating other intra-articular and periarticular structures. Diagnostically relevant artifacts include magic angle and chemical shift artifacts, which can lead to artificial signal enhancement in cartilage or incorrect representations of the subchondral lamina and its thickness. Although scientifically validated, high-resolution 3D gradient echo sequences (for cartilage segmentation) and compositional MR sequences (for quantification of physical tissue parameters) are currently reserved for scientific research questions. The future integration of artificial intelligence techniques in areas such as image reconstruction (to reduce scan times while maintaining image quality), image analysis (for automated identification of cartilage defects), and image postprocessing (for automated segmentation of cartilage in terms of volume and thickness) will significantly improve the diagnostic workflow and advance the field further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Lemainque
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Marc Sebastian Huppertz
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Can Yüksel
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Robert Siepmann
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Christiane Kuhl
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Frank Roemer
- Radiologisches Institut, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen & Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schloßplatz 4, 91054, Erlangen, Deutschland
- Department of Radiology, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel Truhn
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland
| | - Sven Nebelung
- Klinik für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland.
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Lemainque T. Editorial for "Effect of Phase Encoding Direction on Image Quality in Single-Shot EPI Diffusion-Weighted Imaging of the Breast". J Magn Reson Imaging 2024. [PMID: 38420670 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.29309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Lemainque
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Schraven S, Brück R, Rosenhain S, Lemainque T, Heines D, Noormohammadian H, Pabst O, Lederle W, Gremse F, Kiessling F. CT- and MRI-Aided Fluorescence Tomography Reconstructions for Biodistribution Analysis. Invest Radiol 2023:00004424-990000000-00181. [PMID: 38038691 DOI: 10.1097/rli.0000000000001052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Optical fluorescence imaging can track the biodistribution of fluorophore-labeled drugs, nanoparticles, and antibodies longitudinally. In hybrid computed tomography-fluorescence tomography (CT-FLT), CT provides the anatomical information to generate scattering and absorption maps supporting a 3-dimensional reconstruction from the raw optical data. However, given the CT's limited soft tissue contrast, fluorescence reconstruction and quantification can be inaccurate and not sufficiently detailed. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can overcome these limitations and extend the options for tissue characterization. Thus, we aimed to establish a hybrid CT-MRI-FLT approach for whole-body imaging and compared it with CT-FLT. MATERIALS AND METHODS The MRI-based hybrid imaging approaches were established first by scanning a water and coconut oil-filled phantom, second by quantifying Cy7 concentrations of inserts in dead mice, and finally by analyzing the biodistribution of AF750-labeled immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA) in living SKH1 mice. Magnetic resonance imaging, acquired with a fat-water-separated mDixon sequence, CT, and FLT were co-registered using markers in the mouse holder frame filled with white petrolatum, which was solid, stable, and visible in both modalities. RESULTS Computed tomography-MRI fusion was confirmed by comparing the segmentation agreement using Dice scores. Phantom segmentations showed good agreement, after correction for gradient linearity distortion and chemical shift. Organ segmentations in dead and living mice revealed adequate agreement for fusion. Marking the mouse holder frame and the successful CT-MRI fusion enabled MRI-FLT as well as CT-MRI-FLT reconstructions. Fluorescence tomography reconstructions supported by CT, MRI, or CT-MRI were comparable in dead mice with 60 pmol fluorescence inserts at different locations. Although standard CT-FLT reconstruction only considered general values for soft tissue, skin, lung, fat, and bone scattering, MRI's more versatile soft tissue contrast enabled the additional consideration of liver, kidneys, and brain. However, this did not change FLT reconstructions and quantifications significantly, whereas for extending scattering maps, it was important to accurately segment the organs and the entire mouse body. The various FLT reconstructions also provided comparable results for the in vivo biodistribution analyses with fluorescent immunoglobulins. However, MRI additionally enabled the visualization of gallbladder, thyroid, and brain. Furthermore, segmentations of liver, spleen, and kidney were more reliable due to better-defined contours than in CT. Therefore, the improved segmentations enabled better assignment of fluorescence signals and more differentiated conclusions with MRI-FLT. CONCLUSIONS Whole-body CT-MRI-FLT was implemented as a novel trimodal imaging approach, which allowed to more accurately assign fluorescence signals, thereby significantly improving pharmacokinetic analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Schraven
- From the Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany (S.S., R.B., S.R., T.L., D.H., W.L., F.G., F.K.); Institute of Molecular Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany (H.N., O.P.); Gremse-IT GmbH, Aachen, Germany (S.R., F.G.); Department for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany (T.L.); Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany (F.K.); and Fraunhofer MEVIS, Institute for Medical Image Computing, Aachen, Germany (F.K.)
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Müller-Franzes G, Müller-Franzes F, Huck L, Raaff V, Kemmer E, Khader F, Arasteh ST, Lemainque T, Kather JN, Nebelung S, Kuhl C, Truhn D. Fibroglandular tissue segmentation in breast MRI using vision transformers: a multi-institutional evaluation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14207. [PMID: 37648728 PMCID: PMC10468506 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41331-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Accurate and automatic segmentation of fibroglandular tissue in breast MRI screening is essential for the quantification of breast density and background parenchymal enhancement. In this retrospective study, we developed and evaluated a transformer-based neural network for breast segmentation (TraBS) in multi-institutional MRI data, and compared its performance to the well established convolutional neural network nnUNet. TraBS and nnUNet were trained and tested on 200 internal and 40 external breast MRI examinations using manual segmentations generated by experienced human readers. Segmentation performance was assessed in terms of the Dice score and the average symmetric surface distance. The Dice score for nnUNet was lower than for TraBS on the internal testset (0.909 ± 0.069 versus 0.916 ± 0.067, P < 0.001) and on the external testset (0.824 ± 0.144 versus 0.864 ± 0.081, P = 0.004). Moreover, the average symmetric surface distance was higher (= worse) for nnUNet than for TraBS on the internal (0.657 ± 2.856 versus 0.548 ± 2.195, P = 0.001) and on the external testset (0.727 ± 0.620 versus 0.584 ± 0.413, P = 0.03). Our study demonstrates that transformer-based networks improve the quality of fibroglandular tissue segmentation in breast MRI compared to convolutional-based models like nnUNet. These findings might help to enhance the accuracy of breast density and parenchymal enhancement quantification in breast MRI screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustav Müller-Franzes
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Fritz Müller-Franzes
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Luisa Huck
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Raaff
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Eva Kemmer
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Firas Khader
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Soroosh Tayebi Arasteh
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Teresa Lemainque
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Jakob Nikolas Kather
- Else Kroener Fresenius Center for Digital Health, Technical University, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Medicine III, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Sven Nebelung
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Christiane Kuhl
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Daniel Truhn
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany.
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