Amanda Ching Lih Ng1,2, Nathan Faggian2,3, Zhaolin Chen2,4, Jingxin Zhang1, Gary F. Egan2,3, Leigh A. Johnston2,4
1Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; 2Howard Florey Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; 3Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; 4Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
In recent years there has been an increased interest in combining phase and magnitude MRI data. We propose an Optimised Projection Image (OPI) technique which removes heuristics involved in combining phase and magnitude to enhance contrast in MRI for a target tissue class. This method fits a bivariate Gaussian mixture model to the magnitude and phase data, and projects the data onto an intensity axis optimised for the model. This algorithm is shown to combine the detail in both magnitude and phase images to create an image with enhanced edge definition and structural detail in comparison to the original images.