title: Impact of denoising on precision and accuracy of saturation-recovery-based myocardial T1mapping.
abstract: To evaluate the impact of a novel postprocessing denoising technique on accuracy and precision in myocardial T1mapping.
  
  
  
  This study introduces a fast and robust denoising method developed for magnetic resonance T1mapping. The technique imposes edge-preserving regularity and exploits the co-occurence of spatial gradients in the acquired T1-weighted images. The proposed approach was assessed in simulations, ex vivo data and in vivo imaging on a cohort of 16 healthy volunteers (12 males, average age 39 ± 8 years, 62 ± 9 bpm) both in pre- and postcontrast injection. The method was evaluated in myocardial T1mapping at 3T with a saturation-recovery technique that is accurate but sensitive to noise. ROIs in the myocardium and left-ventricle blood pool were analyzed by an experienced reader. Mean T1values and standard deviation were extracted and compared in all studies.
  
  
  
  Simulations on synthetic phantom showed signal-to-noise ratio and sharpness improvement with the proposed method in comparison with conventional denoising. In vivo results demonstrated that our method preserves accuracy, as no difference in mean T1values was observed in the myocardium (precontrast: 1433/1426 msec, 95%CI: [-40.7, 55.9], p = 0.75, postcontrast: 766/759 msec, 95%CI: [-60.7, 77.2], p = 0.8). Meanwhile, precision was improved with standard deviations of T1values being significantly decreased (precontrast: 223/151 msec, 95%CI: [27.3, 116.5], p = 0.003, postcontrast: 176/135 msec, 95%CI: [5.5, 77.1], p = 0.03).
  
  
  
  The proposed denoising method preserves accuracy and improves precision in myocardial T1mapping, with the potential to offer better map visualization and analysis.
  
  
  
  3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;46:1377-1388.
authors.affiliation: GE Global Research, Munich, Germany.|Department of Computer Science, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.|Imagerie Adaptative Diagnostique et Interventionnelle, INSERM U947 et Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Aurélien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bustin
authors.affiliation: Imagerie Adaptative Diagnostique et Interventionnelle, INSERM U947 et Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferry
authors.affiliation: Service de Cardiologie, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Codreanu
authors.affiliation: Imagerie Adaptative Diagnostique et Interventionnelle, INSERM U947 et Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France.|CIC-IT 1433, INSERM, Université de Lorraine, CHRU de Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Marine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beaumont
authors.affiliation: GE Global Research, Munich, Germany.|Department of Computer Science, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Shufang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Darius
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Burschka
authors.affiliation: Imagerie Adaptative Diagnostique et Interventionnelle, INSERM U947 et Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France.|CIC-IT 1433, INSERM, Université de Lorraine, CHRU de Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Felblinger
authors.affiliation: GE Healthcare, Cardiac Center of Excellence, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Anja C S
authors.initials: ACS
authors.lastname: Brau
authors.affiliation: GE Global Research, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menini
authors.affiliation: Imagerie Adaptative Diagnostique et Interventionnelle, INSERM U947 et Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France.|CIC-IT 1433, INSERM, Université de Lorraine, CHRU de Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Freddy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Odille
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media
keywords: accuracy; cardiac MRI; denoising; myocardial T1 mapping; precision