Semiautomated analysis of the extent and severity of perfusion defects on brain SPECT images: Validation studies

Abstract

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a widely available and practical functional imaging technique with established clinical and research applications in neurological disorders such as epilepsy and stroke. SPECT images are usually analysed visually, or semiquantitatively by measuring side-to-side asymmetries. In order to evaluate perfusion change after thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute ischaemic stroke we developed a semiautomated, weighted volumetric analysis (the ischaemic index) that measured the extent and severity of tracer uptake abnormalities on brain SPECT images semiquantitatively. The unaffected cerebral hemisphere was used as the reference region of inte..