The ASPECTS template is weighted in favor of the striatocapsular region

Abstract

The extent of cerebral infarction correlates with increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) following recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) administration. The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) is a widely used, validated method which assesses involvement of 10 selected regions of the MCA territory. An ASPECTS score >7 is associated with a higher risk of ICH following thrombolysis than lower scores. To understand the internal structure of the ASPECTS template better, we estimated the infarct volume corresponding to each region. We hypothesized that, in the ASPECTS scoring system, the striatocapsular region is weighted disproportionally. Four experienced radiol..