Evaluation of deep learning-based reconstruction for qualitative and quantitative DW-MRI in head and neck cancers

The head and neck (HN) region have complex anatomical structures that affect the image quality of diffusion-weighted MRI. Therefore deep learning (DL)-based Reconstruction (Recon) for DW-MRI could be a promising method that can help improve image sharpness and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) without increasing signal averaging. The present study aimed to evaluate the performance of qualitative and quantitative multiple b-value DW-MRI powered by DL-based Recon for tumors in the HN region. The DL-based recon method improved the DW image quality and SNR compared to those without DL recon.