Deep Learning Single-Frame and Multiframe Super-Resolution for Cardiac MRI.

Background Cardiac MRI is limited by long acquisition times, yet faster acquisition of smaller-matrix images reduces spatial detail. Deep learning (DL) might enable both faster acquisition and higher spatial detail via super-resolution. Purpose To explore the feasibility of using DL to enhance spatial detail from small-matrix MRI acquisitions and evaluate its performance against that of conventional image upscaling methods. Materials and Methods Short-axis cine cardiac MRI examinations performed between January 2012 and December 2018 at one institution were retrospectively collected for algorithm development and testing. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs), a form of DL, were trained to perform super resolution in image space by using synthetically generated low-resolution data. There were 70%, 20%, and 10% of examinations allocated to training, validation, and test sets, respectively. CNNs were compared against bicubic interpolation and Fourier-based zero padding by calculating the structural similarity index (SSIM) between high-resolution ground truth and each upscaling method. Means and standard deviations of the SSIM were reported, and statistical significance was determined by using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. For evaluation of clinical performance, left ventricular volumes were measured, and statistical significance was determined by using the paired Student test. Results For CNN training and retrospective analysis, 400 MRI scans from 367 patients (mean age, 48 years ± 18; 214 men) were included. All CNNs outperformed zero padding and bicubic interpolation at upsampling factors from two to 64 ( < .001). CNNs outperformed zero padding on more than 99.2% of slices (9828 of 9907). In addition, 10 patients (mean age, 51 years ± 22; seven men) were prospectively recruited for super-resolution MRI. Super-resolved low-resolution images yielded left ventricular volumes comparable to those from full-resolution images ( > .05), and super-resolved full-resolution images appeared to further enhance anatomic detail. Conclusion Deep learning outperformed conventional upscaling methods and recovered high-frequency spatial information. Although training was performed only on short-axis cardiac MRI examinations, the proposed strategy appeared to improve quality in other imaging planes. © RSNA, 2020