A segmentation-based volumetric approach to localize and quantify cerebral vasospasm based on tomographic imaging...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Medical Physics
• Vascular Biology

Background:

• Cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) requires accurate quantification in both animal models and clinical practice.
• Current methods may lack precision in assessing the volumetric changes of intracranial blood vessels.
• Developing advanced imaging analysis techniques is crucial for understanding and managing SAH complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a computer-based volumetric assessment method for intracranial blood vessels.
• To quantify cerebral vasospasm in a rodent SAH model using micro computed tomography (micro-CT).
• To demonstrate the transferability of this volumetric approach to clinical CT angiography (CTA) data.

Main Methods:

• Ex vivo micro-CT of murine brains post-SAH or sham surgery.
• Digital reconstruction and segmentation of intracranial vascular trees.
• Volumetric calculation of defined vessel segments using Amira® software and analysis of clinical CTA data.

Main Results:

• SAH animals showed significantly smaller mean vessel diameters (MCA: 134.4±26.9μm) compared to sham (165.0±18.7μm).
• Volumetric analysis revealed significant differences in MCA-ICA segments between SAH (0.044±0.017μl) and sham (0.07±0.006μl) groups.
• Digital reconstruction diameters correlated strongly with microscopic (rodent) and angiographic (clinical) measurements.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides accurate, volumetric reconstructions of intracranial vessels from cross-sectional imaging.
• It objectively quantifies vasospasm-induced changes in a murine SAH model.
• This volumetric approach is a promising tool for analyzing clinical CTA data in SAH patients.