Motivation: The lack of optimal protocol design for ultra-low-field (ULF) MRI limits the efficacy of downstream neuroimaging analysis. Goal(s): Optimize scan protocols to maximize the performance of ULF-MRI brain volume analyses while minimizing scan time. Approach: Conduct an ablation study to identify optimal combinations of ULF imaging directions acquired with high in-plane resolution relative to the slice thickness. Results: Combining varying imaging directions improves the performance of brain volumetrics, but coronally-acquired images are critical. More specifically, we observe maximal performance in brain volumetric analyses using a combination of T1 and T2-weighted coronal, and T2-weighted axial ULF-MRI data. Impact: We present an optimal ULF image acquisition protocol with a scan time of approximately 15 minutes. Deep learning ULF image enhancement methods that are trained on this optimized protocol excel in the accuracy and reliability of subsequent brain volume analyses.
Hsu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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