Stable Deep MRI Reconstruction Using Generative Priors

IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2023 Dec;42(12):3817-3832. doi: 10.1109/TMI.2023.3311345. Epub 2023 Nov 30.

Abstract

Data-driven approaches recently achieved remarkable success in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reconstruction, but integration into clinical routine remains challenging due to a lack of generalizability and interpretability. In this paper, we address these challenges in a unified framework based on generative image priors. We propose a novel deep neural network based regularizer which is trained in a generative setting on reference magnitude images only. After training, the regularizer encodes higher-level domain statistics which we demonstrate by synthesizing images without data. Embedding the trained model in a classical variational approach yields high-quality reconstructions irrespective of the sub-sampling pattern. In addition, the model shows stable behavior when confronted with out-of-distribution data in the form of contrast variation. Furthermore, a probabilistic interpretation provides a distribution of reconstructions and hence allows uncertainty quantification. To reconstruct parallel MRI, we propose a fast algorithm to jointly estimate the image and the sensitivity maps. The results demonstrate competitive performance, on par with state-of-the-art end-to-end deep learning methods, while preserving the flexibility with respect to sub-sampling patterns and allowing for uncertainty quantification.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted* / methods
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Neural Networks, Computer*