DL-Accelerated Double Inversion Recovery Cuts Optic Nerve MRI Time Nearly in Half While Improving Lesion Detection

Deep learning-accelerated DIR MRI reduced optic nerve scan time by 44% (23 min → 13 min) in 75 patients with suspected optic neuropathy, detected significantly longer lesions than STIR (β=7.4–7.6%, p<0.001), and was interchangeable with conventional DIR. Prospective single-cente…

• Prospective study, 75 consecutive patients (mean age 37±20 yrs; 47 female); 3 radiologists scored on 4-point Likert scale; DIR-DL vs. conventional sequences (STIR, T2-FS, T1WI, Cube T1-FS).
• DIR and DIR-DL showed higher specificity than STIR/STIR-DL, and achieved near-perfect interchangeability with their conventional counterparts (IEI 0.02–0.04, 90% CI within ±0.05 margin; κ=0.85–0.95). DIR-DL rated excellent image quality in 87.6% vs. 82.9% for conventional sequences.
• Key limitation: single-center, small sample (n=75), and no histopathologic or longitudinal follow-up reference standard to confirm lesion true-positive status.

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