Triple-Phase Sequential Fusion Network for Hepatobiliary Phase Liver MRI Synthesis

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Qiuli, Sun, Xinhuan, Chen, Fengxi, Liu, Yongxu, Cheng, Jie, Chen, Lin, Chen, Jiafei, Zhang, Yue, Li, Xiaoming, Chen, Wei
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Wang, Qiuli
Sun, Xinhuan
Chen, Fengxi
Liu, Yongxu
Cheng, Jie
Chen, Lin
Chen, Jiafei
Zhang, Yue
Li, Xiaoming
Chen, Wei
author_facet Wang, Qiuli
Sun, Xinhuan
Chen, Fengxi
Liu, Yongxu
Cheng, Jie
Chen, Lin
Chen, Jiafei
Zhang, Yue
Li, Xiaoming
Chen, Wei
contents Gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI is essential for the detection and characterization of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, acquisition of the hepatobiliary phase (HBP) requires a prolonged post-contrast delay, which reduces workflow efficiency and increases the risk of motion artifacts. In this study, we propose a Triple-Phase Sequential Fusion Network (TriPF-Net) to synthesize HBP images by leveraging the sequential information from pre-HBP sequences: while T1-weighted imaging serves as the indispensable baseline, the model adaptively integrates arterial-phase (AP) and venous-phase (VP) features when available. By modeling the tissue-specific contrast uptake and excretion dynamics across these three phases, TriPF-Net ensures robust HBP synthesis even under the stochastic absence of one or both dynamic contrast-enhanced sequences. The framework comprises an Enhanced Region-Guided Encoder and a Dynamic Feature Unification Module, optimized with a Region-Guided Sequential Fusion Loss to maintain physiological consistency. In addition, clinical variables, including age, sex, total bilirubin, and albumin, are incorporated to enhance physiological consistency. Compared with conventional methods, TriPF-Net achieved superior performance on datasets from two centers. On the internal dataset, the model achieved an MAE of 10.65, a PSNR of 23.27, and an SSIM of 0.76. On the external validation dataset, the corresponding values were 12.41, 23.11, and 0.78, respectively. This flexible solution enhances clinical workflow and lesion depiction, potentially eliminating the need for delayed HBP acquisition in HCC imaging.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_22904
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Triple-Phase Sequential Fusion Network for Hepatobiliary Phase Liver MRI Synthesis
Wang, Qiuli
Sun, Xinhuan
Chen, Fengxi
Liu, Yongxu
Cheng, Jie
Chen, Lin
Chen, Jiafei
Zhang, Yue
Li, Xiaoming
Chen, Wei
Image and Video Processing
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI is essential for the detection and characterization of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, acquisition of the hepatobiliary phase (HBP) requires a prolonged post-contrast delay, which reduces workflow efficiency and increases the risk of motion artifacts. In this study, we propose a Triple-Phase Sequential Fusion Network (TriPF-Net) to synthesize HBP images by leveraging the sequential information from pre-HBP sequences: while T1-weighted imaging serves as the indispensable baseline, the model adaptively integrates arterial-phase (AP) and venous-phase (VP) features when available. By modeling the tissue-specific contrast uptake and excretion dynamics across these three phases, TriPF-Net ensures robust HBP synthesis even under the stochastic absence of one or both dynamic contrast-enhanced sequences. The framework comprises an Enhanced Region-Guided Encoder and a Dynamic Feature Unification Module, optimized with a Region-Guided Sequential Fusion Loss to maintain physiological consistency. In addition, clinical variables, including age, sex, total bilirubin, and albumin, are incorporated to enhance physiological consistency. Compared with conventional methods, TriPF-Net achieved superior performance on datasets from two centers. On the internal dataset, the model achieved an MAE of 10.65, a PSNR of 23.27, and an SSIM of 0.76. On the external validation dataset, the corresponding values were 12.41, 23.11, and 0.78, respectively. This flexible solution enhances clinical workflow and lesion depiction, potentially eliminating the need for delayed HBP acquisition in HCC imaging.
title Triple-Phase Sequential Fusion Network for Hepatobiliary Phase Liver MRI Synthesis
topic Image and Video Processing
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.22904