Accurate Liver 3D Reconstruction from MRE Images Using Shift-Compensated Volumetric Interpolation

Abstract

In the last decade, recognition of the diagnostic potential arising from the analysis of the mechanical properties of biological tissues has led to research into methods for determining the mechanical properties of in vivo tissues. Magnetic resonance elastography is a newly developed imaging technique, based on the study of the phase contrast of a propagated acoustic transmission wave in tissues subjected to harmonic mechanical excitation. The acquired data allow to calculate the local quantitative values of the shear modulus and the generation of images that, in the form of colored maps, represent the elasticity of the tissue. The main limit of this method is the limited number of images that can be acquired during a scan. This is reflected in the accuracy of the 3D reconstruction of the anatomy and leads to coarser segmentation and modeling. In this article, Motion Compensated Frame Interpolation techniques are applied for effective axial interpolation of magnetic resonance elastography image sequences, with the main goal of achieving a refined 3D reconstruction.