J Korean Radiol Soc.  2007 Jul;57(1):7-14. 10.3348/jkrs.2007.57.1.7.

Diffusion-Weighted MR Images for Hyperacute Cerebral Infarction: Design of a Quick Volume Estimation Method for Hyperintensities

• Ko MS
• Lee DH
• Park SH
• Pyun HW
• Lee JH
• Choi CG
• Kim SJ
• Suh DC

• KMID: 1834474
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jkrs.2007.57.1.7

Abstract

PURPOSE
To design a reliable and quick lesion volume estimation method for hyperintensities on diffusion-weighted images (DWI) for the evaluation of hyperacute stroke.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty patients with obvious high signal lesions seen on DWI in the middle cerebral artery territory due to acute ischemia were enrolled to evaluate the performance of four tentatively designed semi-quantitative methods: the 25-area method, the 20-area method, the 10-area method, and the modified 10-area method. Two radiologists performed the volume analyses using these methods. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to compare the correlation between the reference values and the measured values and to evaluate the interobserver agreement of each method.
RESULTS
For the correlation between the measured value and the reference value, the performance of the modified 10-area method was the most powerful, with a value of 0.8981 and 0.8090 for observer 1 and 2, respectively. The interobserver agreement was satisfactory for both the 25-area method and the modified 10-area method, with a value of 0.9212 (95% CI: 0.8123-0.9681) and 0.9063 (95% CI: 0.7790-0.9618), respectively.
CONCLUSION
The performance of the modified 10-area method was satisfactory for both lesion volume estimation and interobserver correlation in the evaluation of an acute cerebral infarction by the use of DWI.

Keyword

Brain, ischemia; Magnetic resonance (MR), diffusion study; Brain, infarction

MeSH Terms

Cerebral Infarction*
Humans
Ischemia
Middle Cerebral Artery
Reference Values
Stroke