Digital morphometry of the prefrontal dorsolateral cortex and thalamus according to computed tomography brain data to predict the cognitive status of patients after ischemic stroke

Cerebral stroke is one of the causes of cognitive impairment, which significantly affects the patient’s quality of life, complicates rehabilitation measures, and creates an additional burden for the patient’s family and society as a whole. Quantitative assessment of the size of selected strategic areas of the brain is utilized worldwide to predict the outcome of various cerebral diseases. In this paper, we propose a method to quantify the size of the prefrontal dorsolateral cortex and thalamus using computed tomography (CT) data. This method has not been described previously, is simple to perform, and can be employed by doctors of various specialties. Digital morphometry of brain structures has now been developed and is predominantly used for data obtained from magnetic resonance imaging. Considering that non-contrast CT of the brain is carried out as soon as possible without fail for all patients in the acute period of stroke, being mandatory, according to the current Russian and international clinical guidelines, the proposed methodology does not create additional financial costs and can be utilized in medical institutions at various levels, as well as for research purposes. All changes are carried out in the axial plane in manual mode. Taking into account the fact that today in Russia there is no single standardized algorithm for digital morphometry of the above brain structures, the method we describe can be of use for both radiologists and clinicians, including for comparing the results of studies obtained in different medical and scientific institutions, and comparing data, including work on predicting cognitive outcomes of cerebral strokes.