Q-MRS: A Deep Learning Framework for Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Spectra Analysis

Abstract

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is an established technique for studying tissue metabolism, particularly in central nervous system disorders. While powerful and versatile, MRS is often limited by challenges associated with data quality, processing, and quantification. Existing MRS quantification methods face difficulties in balancing model complexity and reproducibility during spectral modeling, often falling into the trap of either oversimplification or over-parameterization. To address these limitations, this study introduces a deep learning (DL) framework that employs transfer learning, in which the model is pre-trained on simulated datasets before it undergoes fine-tuning on in vivo data. The proposed framework showed promising performance when applied to the Philips dataset from the BIG GABA repository and represents an exciting advancement in MRS data analysis.