Abstract
Echo-planar imaging is the workhorse of diffusion MRI, but suffers from strong geometric distortions induced by magnetic susceptibility along the phase-encoding axis. Depending on the phase-encoding direction, they compress or stretch the observed image region, leaving no detail where compressed and more finely resolved anatomy where stretched. The conventional approach restores the geometry from a reversed phase-encoding pair. Rather than stopping at restoration, we assess whether these distortions can provide super-resolution. We provide a unified forward model that reconstructs a single undistorted image from multiple volumes that sample the distortion across many phase-encoding directions, realized by rotating the field of view. We evaluate the model in a realistic subject phantom and in vivo. In simulations, our reconstruction resolves fine detail better than the conventional approach, most where the distortions are strong. Super-resolution beyond the nominal grid, however, only materializes when the forward operator matches the simulation exactly. In our in vivo data, these gains did not translate, but our simulation framework offers a systematic route to closing this gap.
Links to Paper and Supplementary Materials
Main Paper (Open Access Version): https://papers.miccai.org/miccai-2026-sat/paper/cdmri_009.pdf
SharedIt Link: Not yet available
SpringerLink (DOI): Not yet available
Supplementary Material: Not Submitted
Link to Open Review
Open Review Page: https://openreview.net/forum?id=ZpbexU50CU
BibTex
@InProceedings{MorLau_InPlane_MICCAISAT2026,
author = { Mordhorst, Laurin AND Fritz, Francisco J. AND Ruthotto, Lars AND Mohammadi, Siawoosh},
title = { { In-Plane Super-Resolution: A Feasibility Study } },
booktitle = {Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention -- MICCAI 2026 Workshops and Challenges},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Springer Nature Switzerland},
volume = {LNCS 17278},
month = {pending},
page = {pending}
}