Hydrocephalus: Ventricular Volume Quantification Using Three-Dimensional Brain CT Data and Semiautomatic...

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Pediatric Neurology
• Medical Imaging Analysis

Background:

• Hydrocephalus management requires precise monitoring of ventricular size.
• Conventional methods for assessing hydrocephalus progression can be subjective.
• Three-dimensional (3D) imaging offers potential for more objective volumetric quantification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utility of ventricular volume percentage derived from 3D brain CT scans for monitoring serial changes in pediatric hydrocephalus.
• To establish the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of this quantitative method.

Main Methods:

• Volumetric analysis of intracranial and ventricular volumes using semiautomatic 3D threshold-based segmentation on 113 brain CT scans from 38 pediatric patients with hydrocephalus.
• Calculation of ventricular volume percentage changes from 75 serial CT pairs.
• Comparison with conventional hydrocephalus assessment and ROC curve analysis for diagnostic cut-off determination.

Main Results:

• Volumetric measurements demonstrated high reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient = 1.0).
• Serial changes in ventricular volume percentage were significantly different between groups with increased, unchanged, or decreased hydrocephalus (p < 0.001).
• Ventricular volume percentage showed excellent diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.975), with a 2.4% cut-off achieving 83.0% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity for diagnosing no change.

Conclusions:

• Ventricular volume percentage quantified by 3D brain CT is a valuable tool for interpreting serial changes in pediatric hydrocephalus.
• This quantitative approach enhances diagnostic accuracy and aids in objective patient management.