Roberto Maria Scardigno, Antonio Brunetti, Pietro Maria Marvulli, Raffaele Carli, Mariagrazia Dotoli, Vitoantonio Bevilacqua, Domenico Buongiorno
{"title":"CALIMAR-GAN: An unpaired mask-guided attention network for metal artifact reduction in CT scans","authors":"Roberto Maria Scardigno, Antonio Brunetti, Pietro Maria Marvulli, Raffaele Carli, Mariagrazia Dotoli, Vitoantonio Bevilacqua, Domenico Buongiorno","doi":"10.1016/j.compmedimag.2025.102565","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>High-quality computed tomography (CT) scans are essential for accurate diagnostic and therapeutic decisions, but the presence of metal objects within the body can produce distortions that lower image quality. Deep learning (DL) approaches using image-to-image translation for metal artifact reduction (MAR) show promise over traditional methods but often introduce secondary artifacts. Additionally, most rely on paired simulated data due to limited availability of real paired clinical data, restricting evaluation on clinical scans to qualitative analysis. This work presents CALIMAR-GAN, a generative adversarial network (GAN) model that employs a guided attention mechanism and the linear interpolation algorithm to reduce artifacts using unpaired simulated and clinical data for targeted artifact reduction. Quantitative evaluations on simulated images demonstrated superior performance, achieving a PSNR of 31.7, SSIM of 0.877, and Fréchet inception distance (FID) of 22.1, outperforming state-of-the-art methods. On real clinical images, CALIMAR-GAN achieved the lowest FID (32.7), validated as a valuable complement to qualitative assessments through correlation with pixel-based metrics (<span><math><mrow><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>797</mn></mrow></math></span> with PSNR, <span><math><mrow><mi>p</mi><mo><</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>01</mn></mrow></math></span>; <span><math><mrow><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>767</mn></mrow></math></span> with MS-SSIM, <span><math><mrow><mi>p</mi><mo><</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>01</mn></mrow></math></span>). This work advances DL-based artifact reduction into clinical practice with high-fidelity reconstructions that enhance diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic outcomes. Code is available at <span><span>https://github.com/roberto722/calimar-gan</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50631,"journal":{"name":"Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 102565"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895611125000746","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
High-quality computed tomography (CT) scans are essential for accurate diagnostic and therapeutic decisions, but the presence of metal objects within the body can produce distortions that lower image quality. Deep learning (DL) approaches using image-to-image translation for metal artifact reduction (MAR) show promise over traditional methods but often introduce secondary artifacts. Additionally, most rely on paired simulated data due to limited availability of real paired clinical data, restricting evaluation on clinical scans to qualitative analysis. This work presents CALIMAR-GAN, a generative adversarial network (GAN) model that employs a guided attention mechanism and the linear interpolation algorithm to reduce artifacts using unpaired simulated and clinical data for targeted artifact reduction. Quantitative evaluations on simulated images demonstrated superior performance, achieving a PSNR of 31.7, SSIM of 0.877, and Fréchet inception distance (FID) of 22.1, outperforming state-of-the-art methods. On real clinical images, CALIMAR-GAN achieved the lowest FID (32.7), validated as a valuable complement to qualitative assessments through correlation with pixel-based metrics ( with PSNR, ; with MS-SSIM, ). This work advances DL-based artifact reduction into clinical practice with high-fidelity reconstructions that enhance diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic outcomes. Code is available at https://github.com/roberto722/calimar-gan.
期刊介绍:
The purpose of the journal Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics is to act as a source for the exchange of research results concerning algorithmic advances, development, and application of digital imaging in disease detection, diagnosis, intervention, prevention, precision medicine, and population health. Included in the journal will be articles on novel computerized imaging or visualization techniques, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, augmented reality for surgical planning and guidance, big biomedical data visualization, computer-aided diagnosis, computerized-robotic surgery, image-guided therapy, imaging scanning and reconstruction, mobile and tele-imaging, radiomics, and imaging integration and modeling with other information relevant to digital health. The types of biomedical imaging include: magnetic resonance, computed tomography, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, X-ray, microwave, optical and multi-photon microscopy, video and sensory imaging, and the convergence of biomedical images with other non-imaging datasets.