MRI Ringing Correction Using Continuous Sub-Voxel Pixel Shifts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images often contain ringing artifacts near signal intensity boundaries, which are corrected at the cost of blurring the processed image using conventional methods.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus that employs sub-voxel shifts to correct ringing artifacts while maintaining image clarity by ensuring continuity of shift amounts between adjacent pixels, using a ringing correcting function to determine shift amounts based on local amplitudes and applying filters to k-space data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional methods are used to correct ringing artifacts, then ringing artifacts are reduced, but the processed image becomes blurred
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different shift amounts to different pixels based on their local ringing amplitude characteristics. Pixels with higher ringing amplitudes receive larger shift amounts, while pixels with lower amplitudes receive smaller shifts, creating a locally adaptive correction that preserves image clarity while reducing artifacts
Solution Approach 2:
The correction amount is dynamically adjusted for each pixel based on the local ringing amplitude. The system calculates optimal shift amounts individually for each pixel rather than applying a uniform correction, allowing the correction strength to adapt to local image characteristics and prevent excessive blurring
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry determines, with respect to each of the pixels included in a magnetic resonance image, a shift amount from the position of the pixel to a position where ringing artifacts will be reduced and performs a ringing correction to correct the ringing artifacts occurring in the magnetic resonance image on the basis of the determined shift amounts. The processing circuitry estimates, with respect to each of the pixels, a local amplitude of ringing artifacts, and performs the ringing correction on the magnetic resonance image while determining the shift amount of each of the pixels so as to be approximately continuous with the shift amounts of adjacently positioned pixels, sequentially in descending order starting with pixels having a higher local amplitude on the basis of the estimated local amplitudes of ringing artifacts.