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Abstract #0566

Unbiased Neural Networks for Quantitative MRI Parameter Estimation

Andrew Mao1,2,3, Sebastian Flassbeck1,2, and Jakob Assländer1,2
1Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, 2Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), Department of Radiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, 3Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States

Synopsis

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Precision & Accuracy, Parameter Estimation, Magnetization transfer, MR fingerprinting

Motivation: Neural-network (NN)-based estimators trained with the mean-squared error criterion have a non-negligible bias which impedes inter-method comparability and the clinical adoption of quantitative MRI methods.

Goal(s): To develop fast, accurate, precise, and reproducible quantitative MRI estimators that are reliable in the face of pathology.

Approach: We explicitly penalize the bias of the NN's estimates during training and study the resulting NN's bias and variance properties for a magnetization transfer model.

Results: The proposed method reduces the NN's variable bias throughout parameter space, achieves a variance close to the theoretical minimum, and shows excellent concordance with parameter maps estimated using non-linear least-squares in vivo.

Impact: NNs trained with the proposed strategy are approximately minimum variance unbiased estimators and are therefore well-suited for the development, validation, and translation of new quantitative biomarkers, particularly for multi-compartment biophysical models such as magnetization transfer or diffusion in white matter.

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Keywords