3T to 7T Whole Brain + Skull MRI Translation with Densely Engineered U-Net Network

The emergence of 7T MRI scanners offers groundbreaking potential in medical imaging, providing ultra-high resolution compared to standard 3T MRI machines. However, widespread adoption faces challenges due to high costs and safety concerns. Our research addresses this by enhancing 3T MRI image quality to rival 7T scanners, particularly in cases where skull stripping is difficult. We propose a dense U-Net algorithm, surpassing previous deep learning methods, achieving an average PSNR of 23.8638 ± 2.3706 and SSIM of 0.7525 ± 0.0646. Validation on a paired MRI dataset of 3 patients scanned in both 3T and 7T machines showed promising results. Neuroradiologists ranked our tool highest in overall image quality, anatomical structure, and diagnostic confidence compared to two others on the Likert scale. Our proposed method could facilitate broader access to advanced imaging capabilities in clinical settings.