Fast SMWI via denoising for nigral hyperintensity detection in Parkinson’s disease

Nigral hyperintensity detection in substantia nigra is a potential biomarker for PD. An advanced SWI method, SMWI, has demonstrated reliable detection of the hyperintensity at 3T but it requires a 4 m 15 s scan protocol which is too long for PD patients, suffering from motion artifacts. In this study, we developed a new 2 m 56 s protocol by reducing phase FOV and applying deep learning-powered denoising to compensate for SNR loss from the shorter scan. The new protocol was validated using both simulated and real data via an automated tool and an expert radiologist.