Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, image processing apparatus, and image processing method

An image processing apparatus configured to process measurement data collected by a plurality of reception coils of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and to reconstruct a denoised image, the image processing apparatus comprising:

• an iterative reconstruction unit configured to reconstruct an image by a repeated calculation using the measurement data for each of the reception coils, wherein
• the iterative reconstruction unit includes:
• an initial value setting unit configured to set an initial value for the repeated calculation based on the measurement data for each of the reception coils;
• a synthesis unit configured to synthesize an image for each of the reception coils;
• a noise removal unit configured to remove noise included in an image before or after the synthesis based on statistical properties of the image and the noise;
• and
• a data consistency maintenance unit configured to create denoised k-space data for each of the reception coils by using a denoised image and to create estimated measurement data by integrating the denoised k-space data and the measurement data, and
• the iterative reconstruction unit is configured to perform iterative processing while updating the initial value based on the estimated measurement data.

An image processing method for processing measurement data collected by a plurality of reception coils of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and creating a denoised reconstructed image, the image processing method comprising:

• iterative processing of maintaining consistency between denoised k-space data and the measurement data, wherein
• the iterative processing includes:
• a step of setting an initial value for the processing based on measurement data for each of the reception coils;
• a step of synthesizing an image for each of the reception coils;
• a step of removing noise included in an image before or after the synthesis based on statistical properties of the image and the noise;
• and
• a step of creating denoised k-space data for each of the reception coils by using a denoised image and creating estimated measurement data by integrating the denoised k-space data and the measurement data, and
• the processing is repeated while updating the initial value based on the estimated measurement data.