Brain MR Image Restoration Using an Automatic Trilateral Filter With GPU-Based Acceleration

Objective: Noise reduction in brain magnetic resonance (MR) images has been a challenging and demanding task. This study develops a new trilateral filter that aims to achieve robust and efficient image restoration. Methods: Extended from the bilateral filter, the proposed algorithm contains one additional intensity similarity function, which compensates for the unique characteristics of noise in brain MR images. An entropy function adaptive to intensity variations is introduced to regulate the contributions of the weighting components. To hasten the computation, parallel computing based on the graphics processing unit (GPU) strategy is explored with emphasis on memory allocations and thread distributions. To automate the filtration, image texture feature analysis associated with machine learning is investigated. Among the 98 candidate features, the sequential forward floating selection scheme is employed to acquire the optimal texture features for regularization. Subsequently, a two-stage classifier that consists of support vector machines and artificial neural networks is established to predict the filter parameters for automation. Results: A speedup gain of 757 was reached to process an entire MR image volume of 256 x 256 x 256 pixels, which completed within 0.5 s. Automatic restoration results revealed high accuracy with an ensemble average relative error of 0.53 +/- 0.85% in terms of the peak signal-to-noise ratio. Conclusion: This self-regulating trilateral filter outperformed many state-of-the-art noise reduction methods both qualitatively and quantitatively. Significance: We believe that this new image restoration algorithm is of potential in many brain MR image processing applications that require expedition and automation.