Deep Learning-denoised Isotropic 2mm Whole Brain pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling at 7T

Optimized pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling has been implemented at 7T. To achieve whole brain high-resolution (2mm isotropic) perfusion imaging at 7T, however, requires prolonged scan time with an increased number of segments. A deep learning (DL) model was trained to boost the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for a scan with fewer repetitions and thus a shorter scan time. The analysis of SNR and temporal SNR suggests that at least 3 repetitions are needed to make a high-SNR prediction comparable to the full scan without compromising quantification accuracy. With DL denoising, the original 12 mins scan can be finished in 4 min.