抄録
We developed a computerized scheme for proper adjustment of display grayscale in brain diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images (DWI) with acute ischemic stroke by using thalamic signal intensity on concurrent images (b0 image). In our computerized scheme, the gray level of b0 image was first normalized, and the brain region was segmented using thresholding and labeling techniques. The lateral inclination in b0 image was then corrected semi-automatically by rotating and shifting. Each of the thalamic positions was determined by using the coordinate information in the brain region. The average signal intensity of the thalamus was measured on the region of interest (ROI) selected, and the thalamus in one side with the low signal intensity was selected. The display grayscale in DWI was finally adjusted by using the signal intensity of the selected thalamus. The thalamus positions in all cases were confirmed to be included in the thalamic outline. In 30 training cases, the average error between the thalamic signal intensity obtained from the manual selection and the computerized scheme were 1.8%±1.5, and in 30 testing cases, 1.3%±1.2. Our computerized scheme has a potential in the determination of the display grayscale of brain DWI, and would be useful to radiologists in decision-making for radiological diagnosis.
