Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40736937›Full record

ArticleRadiological physics and technology2025

Practical signal-to-noise ratio mapping using single clinical MR images.

Shinya Kojima, Shuntaro Higuchi, Tatsuya Hayashi, Toshiya Kariyasu, Makiko Nishikawa, Hidenori Yamaguchi, Haruhiko Machida

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Article in Radiological physics and technology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Shinya KojimaDepartment of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan. kojima.shinya@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6199-9784
Shuntaro HiguchiDepartment of Radiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University Adachi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
Tatsuya HayashiDepartment of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan.
Toshiya KariyasuDepartment of Radiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University Adachi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
Makiko NishikawaDepartment of Radiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University Adachi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
Hidenori YamaguchiEmergency and Critical Care Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University Adachi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
Haruhiko MachidaDepartment of Radiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University Adachi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant Number 23K07142
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Accurate signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement is essential for evaluating image quality in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While the subtraction-map method provides precise SNR measurements, it requires two consecutive acquisitions, limiting its clinical applicability. This study aims to develop and validate a method for practical SNR measurement using clinical MRI images. The proposed method generates an SNR map by computing a noise-only image from a single MRI image using pixel shifting and edge component removal. The accuracy of our method was compared with the subtraction-map method in three evaluations: (1) optimization of a key parameter for edge component removal, (2) analysis of spatial resolution and SNR level effects, and (3) validation using brain MRI images. The study included brain MRI from 188 patients, and SNR measurements were performed on the resulting images. Correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman analysis were used for comparisons. Parameter optimization identified an optimal threshold for separating noise and edge components. Higher spatial resolution improved accuracy, whereas lower resolution and low SNR conditions led to overestimation. In clinical MRI, the proposed method showed a strong correlation with the subtraction-map method (Spearman r = 0.96), and the highest average error rate was 8.1% in T1-weighted images. Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated good agreement across sequences and regions. This method enables practical SNR estimation from a single image, eliminating the need for repeated acquisitions. While limitations remain in low-SNR or structurally complex regions, the method shows promise as a practical tool for retrospective and routine clinical image quality assessments.

Indexed as

Image Processing, Computer-AssistedMagnetic Resonance ImagingSignal-To-Noise RatioAdultBrainFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPixel-shift methodSNR measurementSubtraction-map methodSubtraction method

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.