Evaluation of super-resolution in magnetic resonance imaging for prostate cancer diagnosis

Abstract

Due to the prevalence of prostate cancer, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is gaining importance in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. However, it still suffers from low resolution, particularly in the through plane. An emerging approach that integrates superresolution (SR) in MRI has successfully been applied in post-acquisition process to enhance resolution of images. Hence, this study evaluates SR reconstructed MRI images of a phantom acquired in a combination of coronal and transverse slice-select planes. The assessment is conducted quantitatively by noise profiling and observing trends in signalto- noise ratio (SNR) across different slice thicknesses. Two significant conclusive results are drawn from the proposed method: (1) Region for taking measurements has extensive impact on noise measurements; (2) The proportional relationship between SNR values and slice thickness are reinforced. Nevertheless, future works should include physiological data to ensure that SR is meaningful in MRI scans for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.