This work investigates the potential value of combining non-uniform k-space averaging with advanced nonlinear image denoising-reconstruction methods in the context of low-SNR MRI. A new data-driven strategy for optimizing the k-space averaging pattern is proposed, and is then applied to total variation and U-net reconstruction methods. It is observed that non-uniform k-space averaging (with substantially more averaging at the center of k-space) is preferred for both reconstruction approaches, although the distribution of averages varies substantially depending on the noise level and the reconstruction method. We expect that these results will be informative for a wide range of low-SNR MRI applications.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.