Non-iterative and uncertainty-aware MRI-based liver fat estimation using an unsupervised deep learning method

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dc.catalogadorjlo
dc.contributor.authorMeneses, Juan P.
dc.contributor.authorTejos, Cristian
dc.contributor.authorMakalic, Enes
dc.contributor.authorUribe, Sergio
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-29T14:03:57Z
dc.date.available2025-09-29T14:03:57Z
dc.date.issued2026
dc.description.abstractLiver proton density fat fraction (PDFF), the ratio between fat-only and overall proton densities, is an extensively validated biomarker associated with several diseases. In recent years, numerous deep learningbased methods for estimating PDFF have been proposed to optimize acquisition and post-processing times without sacrificing accuracy, compared to conventional methods. However, the lack of interpretability and the often poor generalizability of these DL-based models undermine the adoption of such techniques in clinical practice. In this work, we propose an Artificial Intelligence-based Decomposition of water and fat with Echo Asymmetry and Least-squares (AI-DEAL) method, designed to estimate both proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and the associated uncertainty maps. Once trained, AI-DEAL performs a one-shot MRI water-fat separation by first calculating the nonlinear confounder variables, 𝑅∗ 2 and off-resonance field. It then employs a weighted least squares approach to compute water-only and fat-only signals, along with their corresponding covariance matrix, which are subsequently used to derive the PDFF and its associated uncertainty. We validated our method using in vivo liver CSE-MRI, a fat-water phantom, and a numerical phantom. AI-DEAL demonstrated PDFF biases of 0.25% and −0.12% at two liver ROIs, outperforming state-of-the-art deep learning-based techniques. Although trained using in vivo data, our method exhibited PDFF biases of −3.43% in the fat-water phantom and −0.22% in the numerical phantom with no added noise. The latter bias remained approximately constant when noise was introduced. Furthermore, the estimated uncertainties showed good agreement with the observed errors and the variations within each ROI, highlighting their potential value for assessing the reliability of the resulting PDFF maps.
dc.format.extent12 páginas
dc.fuente.origenORCID
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.media.2025.103811
dc.identifier.issn1361-8415
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.media.2025.103811
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/105800
dc.information.autorucEscuela de Ingeniería; Meneses Casanova, Juan Pablo; S/I; 232726
dc.information.autorucEscuela de Ingeniería; Tejos Núñez, Cristián Andrés; 0000-0002-8367-155X; 4027
dc.language.isoen
dc.nota.accesocontenido parcial
dc.revistaMedical Image Analysis
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectQuantitative MRI
dc.subjectProton Density Fat Fraction
dc.subjectPhysics-based Deep Learning
dc.subjectUncertainty quantification
dc.subject.ddc620
dc.subject.deweyIngenieríaes_ES
dc.titleNon-iterative and uncertainty-aware MRI-based liver fat estimation using an unsupervised deep learning method
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen107
sipa.codpersvinculados232726
sipa.codpersvinculados4027
sipa.trazabilidadORCID;2025-09-22
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