Evaluation of robust wave image processing methods for magnetic resonance elastography

• Addressing wave image processing and enhancement in MRE.
• Investigating various solutions for phase unwrapping, directional filtering and noise suppression.
• Carrying out both quantitative and qualitative experiments for performance evaluation and comparison.

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a promising modality for in vivo quantification and visualization of soft tissue elasticity. It involves three stages of processes for (1) external excitation, (2) wave imaging and (3) elasticity reconstruction. One of the important issues to be addressed in MRE is wave image processing and enhancement. In this study we approach it from three different ways including phase unwrapping, directional filtering and noise suppression. The relevant solutions were addressed briefly. Some of them were implemented and evaluated on both simulated and experimental MRE datasets. The results confirm that wave image enhancement is indispensable before carrying out MRE elasticity reconstruction.

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