Learning-based free-water correction using single-shell diffusion MRI

Abstract

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) offers the ability to assess subvoxel brain microstructure through the extraction of biomarkers like fractional anisotropy, as well as to unveil brain connectivity by reconstructing white matter fiber trajectories. However, accurate analysis becomes challenging at the interface between cerebrospinal fluid and white matter, where the MRI signal originates from both the cerebrospinal fluid and the white matter partial volume. The presence of free water partial volume effects introduces a substantial bias in estimating diffusion properties, thereby limiting the clinical utility of DWI. Moreover, current mathematical models often lack applicability to single-shell acquisitions commonly encountered in clinical settings. Without appropriate regularization, direct model fitting becomes impractical. We propose a novel voxel-based deep learning method for mapping and correcting free-water partial volume contamination in DWI to address these limitations. This approach leverages data-driven techniques to reliably infer plausible free-water volumes across different diffusion MRI acquisition schemes, including single-shell acquisitions. Our evaluation demonstrates that the introduced methodology consistently produces more consistent and plausible results than previous approaches. By effectively mitigating the impact of free water partial volume effects, our approach enhances the accuracy and reliability of DWI analysis for single-shell dMRI, thereby expanding its applications in assessing brain microstructure and connectivity.