Cyclic Continuous Max-Flow: A Third Paradigm in Generating Local Phase Shift Maps in MRI
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2018
Journal
IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging
Volume
37
Issue
2
First Page
568
Last Page
579
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1109/TMI.2017.2766922
Abstract
Sensitivity to phase deviations in MRI forms the basis of a variety of techniques, including magnetic susceptibility weighted imaging and chemical shift imaging. Current phase processing techniques fall into two families: those which process the complex image data with magnitude and phase coupled, and phase unwrapping-based techniques that first linearize the phase topology across the image. However, issues, such as low signal and the existence of phase poles, can lead both methods to experience error. Cyclic continuous max-flow (CCMF) phase processing uses primal-dual-variational optimization over a cylindrical manifold, which represent the inherent topology of phase images, increasing its robustness to these issues. CCMF represents a third distinct paradigm in phase processing, being the only technique equipped with the inherent topology of phase. CCMF is robust and efficient with at least comparable accuracy as the prior paradigms.