Skip to main content
Advertisement

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Accepted Manuscripts
    • Article Preview
    • Past Issue Archive
    • Video Articles
    • AJNR Case Collection
    • Case of the Week Archive
    • Case of the Month Archive
    • Classic Case Archive
  • Special Collections
    • AJNR Awards
    • Low-Field MRI
    • Alzheimer Disease
    • ASNR Foundation Special Collection
    • Photon-Counting CT
    • View All
  • Multimedia
    • AJNR Podcasts
    • AJNR SCANtastic
    • Trainee Corner
    • MRI Safety Corner
    • Imaging Protocols
  • For Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Submit a Video Article
    • Submit an eLetter to the Editor/Response
    • Manuscript Submission Guidelines
    • Statistical Tips
    • Fast Publishing of Accepted Manuscripts
    • Graphical Abstract Preparation
    • Imaging Protocol Submission
    • Author Policies
  • About Us
    • About AJNR
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Board Alumni
  • More
    • Become a Reviewer/Academy of Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Advertisers
    • ASNR Home

User menu

  • Alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
American Journal of Neuroradiology
American Journal of Neuroradiology

American Journal of Neuroradiology

ASHNR American Society of Functional Neuroradiology ASHNR American Society of Pediatric Neuroradiology ASSR
  • Alerts
  • Log in

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Accepted Manuscripts
    • Article Preview
    • Past Issue Archive
    • Video Articles
    • AJNR Case Collection
    • Case of the Week Archive
    • Case of the Month Archive
    • Classic Case Archive
  • Special Collections
    • AJNR Awards
    • Low-Field MRI
    • Alzheimer Disease
    • ASNR Foundation Special Collection
    • Photon-Counting CT
    • View All
  • Multimedia
    • AJNR Podcasts
    • AJNR SCANtastic
    • Trainee Corner
    • MRI Safety Corner
    • Imaging Protocols
  • For Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Submit a Video Article
    • Submit an eLetter to the Editor/Response
    • Manuscript Submission Guidelines
    • Statistical Tips
    • Fast Publishing of Accepted Manuscripts
    • Graphical Abstract Preparation
    • Imaging Protocol Submission
    • Author Policies
  • About Us
    • About AJNR
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Board Alumni
  • More
    • Become a Reviewer/Academy of Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Advertisers
    • ASNR Home
  • Follow AJNR on Twitter
  • Visit AJNR on Facebook
  • Follow AJNR on Instagram
  • Join AJNR on LinkedIn
  • RSS Feeds

AJNR Awards, New Junior Editors, and more. Read the latest AJNR updates

Research ArticleORIGINAL RESEARCH

AI generated synthetic STIR of the lumbar spine from T1 and T2 MRI sequences trained with open-source algorithms

Alice M.L. Santilli, Mark A. Fontana, Erwin E. Xia, Zenas Igbinoba, Ek Tsoon Tan, Darryl B. Sneag and J. Levi Chazen
American Journal of Neuroradiology January 2025, ajnr.A8512; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A8512
Alice M.L. Santilli
From the Orthopedic Data Innovation Lab (ODIL), Hospital for Special Surgery (A.M.L.S., M.A.F.), Department of Radiology and Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery Centre (E.E.X, Z.I, E.T.T, D.B.S, J.L.C)and Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine (M.A.F), New York, New York, USA.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mark A. Fontana
From the Orthopedic Data Innovation Lab (ODIL), Hospital for Special Surgery (A.M.L.S., M.A.F.), Department of Radiology and Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery Centre (E.E.X, Z.I, E.T.T, D.B.S, J.L.C)and Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine (M.A.F), New York, New York, USA.
PhD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Erwin E. Xia
From the Orthopedic Data Innovation Lab (ODIL), Hospital for Special Surgery (A.M.L.S., M.A.F.), Department of Radiology and Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery Centre (E.E.X, Z.I, E.T.T, D.B.S, J.L.C)and Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine (M.A.F), New York, New York, USA.
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Zenas Igbinoba
From the Orthopedic Data Innovation Lab (ODIL), Hospital for Special Surgery (A.M.L.S., M.A.F.), Department of Radiology and Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery Centre (E.E.X, Z.I, E.T.T, D.B.S, J.L.C)and Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine (M.A.F), New York, New York, USA.
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ek Tsoon Tan
From the Orthopedic Data Innovation Lab (ODIL), Hospital for Special Surgery (A.M.L.S., M.A.F.), Department of Radiology and Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery Centre (E.E.X, Z.I, E.T.T, D.B.S, J.L.C)and Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine (M.A.F), New York, New York, USA.
PhD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Darryl B. Sneag
From the Orthopedic Data Innovation Lab (ODIL), Hospital for Special Surgery (A.M.L.S., M.A.F.), Department of Radiology and Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery Centre (E.E.X, Z.I, E.T.T, D.B.S, J.L.C)and Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine (M.A.F), New York, New York, USA.
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
J. Levi Chazen
From the Orthopedic Data Innovation Lab (ODIL), Hospital for Special Surgery (A.M.L.S., M.A.F.), Department of Radiology and Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery Centre (E.E.X, Z.I, E.T.T, D.B.S, J.L.C)and Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine (M.A.F), New York, New York, USA.
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • Responses
  • PDF
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To train and evaluate an open-source generative adversarial networks (GANs) to create synthetic lumbar spine MRI STIR volumes from T1 and T2 sequences, providing a proof-of-concept that could allow for faster MRI examinations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 1817 MRI examinations with sagittal T1, T2, and STIR sequences were accumulated and randomly divided into training, validation, and test sets. GANs were trained to create synthetic STIR volumes using the T1 and T2 volumes as inputs, optimized using the validation set, then applied to the test set. Acquired and synthetic test set volumes were independently evaluated in a blinded, randomized fashion by three radiologists specializing in musculoskeletal imaging and neuroradiology. Readers assessed image quality, motion artifacts, perceived likelihood of the volume being acquired or synthetic, and presence of 7 pathologies.

RESULTS: The optimal model leveraged a customized loss function that accentuated foreground pixels, achieving a structural similarity imaging metric (SSIM) of 0.842, mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.028, and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) of 26.367. Radiologists could distinguish synthetic from acquired volumes; however, the synthetic volumes were of equal or better quality in 77% of test patients and demonstrated equivalent or decreased motion artifacts in 78% of test patients. For common pathologies, the synthetic volumes had high positive predictive value (75-100%) but lower sensitivity (0-67%).

CONCLUSIONS: This work links objective computer vision performance metrics and subject clinical evaluation of synthetic spine MRIs using open-source and reproducible methodologies. High-quality synthetic volumes are generated, reproducing many important pathologies, demonstrating a potential means for expediting imaging protocols.

ABBREVIATIONS: AI = Artificial Intelligence; GANs = general adversarial networks; aqSTIR = acquired STIR volume; sSTIR = synthetically generated STIR volume; SSIM = structural similarity imaging metric; PSNR = peak signal to noise ratio; MAE = mean absolute error.

Footnotes

  • All other authors declare no conflicts of interest with respect to this work.

  • © 2025 by American Journal of Neuroradiology

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
PreviousNext
Back to top
Advertisement
Download PDF
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Journal of Neuroradiology.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
AI generated synthetic STIR of the lumbar spine from T1 and T2 MRI sequences trained with open-source algorithms
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Journal of Neuroradiology
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Journal of Neuroradiology web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Cite this article
Accepted Manuscript
Alice M.L. Santilli, Mark A. Fontana, Erwin E. Xia, Zenas Igbinoba, Ek Tsoon Tan, Darryl B. Sneag, J. Levi Chazen
AI generated synthetic STIR of the lumbar spine from T1 and T2 MRI sequences trained with open-source algorithms
American Journal of Neuroradiology Jan 2025, ajnr.A8512; DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A8512

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
0 Responses
Respond to this article
Share
Bookmark this article
Accepted Manuscript
AI generated synthetic STIR of the lumbar spine from T1 and T2 MRI sequences trained with open-source algorithms
Alice M.L. Santilli, Mark A. Fontana, Erwin E. Xia, Zenas Igbinoba, Ek Tsoon Tan, Darryl B. Sneag, J. Levi Chazen
American Journal of Neuroradiology Jan 2025, ajnr.A8512; DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A8512
del.icio.us logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Purchase

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • Responses
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Crossref
  • Google Scholar

This article has not yet been cited by articles in journals that are participating in Crossref Cited-by Linking.

More in this TOC Section

  • Methionine PET Findings in the Diagnosis of Brain Tumors and Non-Tumorous Mass Lesions: A Single-Center Report on 426 Cases
  • Contemporary Results of Mechanical Thrombectomy and Impact of First-Line Technique on Outcome: The INSPIRE-S Global Registry
  • Machine Learning-Based Prediction of Delayed Neurological Sequelae in Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Using Automatically Extracted MR Imaging Features
Show more ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Similar Articles

Advertisement

Indexed Content

  • Current Issue
  • Accepted Manuscripts
  • Article Preview
  • Past Issues
  • Editorials
  • Editor's Choice
  • Fellows' Journal Club
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Video Articles

Cases

  • Case Collection
  • Archive - Case of the Week
  • Archive - Case of the Month
  • Archive - Classic Case

More from AJNR

  • Trainee Corner
  • Imaging Protocols
  • MRI Safety Corner
  • Book Reviews

Multimedia

  • AJNR Podcasts
  • AJNR Scantastics

Resources

  • Turnaround Time
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Submit a Video Article
  • Submit an eLetter to the Editor/Response
  • Manuscript Submission Guidelines
  • Statistical Tips
  • Fast Publishing of Accepted Manuscripts
  • Graphical Abstract Preparation
  • Imaging Protocol Submission
  • Evidence-Based Medicine Level Guide
  • Publishing Checklists
  • Author Policies
  • Become a Reviewer/Academy of Reviewers
  • News and Updates

About Us

  • About AJNR
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Board Alumni
  • Alerts
  • Permissions
  • Not an AJNR Subscriber? Join Now
  • Advertise with Us
  • Librarian Resources
  • Feedback
  • Terms and Conditions
  • AJNR Editorial Board Alumni

American Society of Neuroradiology

  • Not an ASNR Member? Join Now

© 2025 by the American Society of Neuroradiology All rights, including for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies, are reserved.
Print ISSN: 0195-6108 Online ISSN: 1936-959X

Powered by HighWire