Cranial CT Grading System for Stroke Assessment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current cranial CT-based stroke diagnosis methods rely heavily on subjective eye-balling assessments, leading to significant disparities due to human factors and imaging equipment variations, which can delay diagnosis and treatment in acute stroke situations.

Innovation Solution

A cranial CT-based grading method and system that automates the process by determining target image slices, extracting relevant areas, performing infarct judgments, and outputting a grading outcome, thereby reducing subjective interpretation and equipment-related discrepancies.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If eye-balling assessment is used for ASPECTS grading, then the process is simple and quick, but subjective disparity and diagnostic accuracy are poor

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesimplicity of assessment processVSAvoiddiagnostic accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a computer-aided assessment system as an intermediary between the CT images and the clinician's judgment. The system automatically identifies target areas, calculates ASPECTS scores, and provides objective references, thereby eliminating subjective disparities while maintaining operational simplicity through automated processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the manual eye-balling assessment mechanism with an automated computer-based system that processes CT images algorithmically. This substitution eliminates human factors such as fatigue, cognitive experience differences, and subjective interpretation, thereby improving diagnostic accuracy while maintaining ease of operation through automated workflows.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Device complexity

If eye-balling assessment is used for ASPECTS grading, then no complex equipment is needed, but agreement between interpretations cannot be guaranteed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesimplicity of assessment toolsVSAvoidinter-observer agreement

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the manual visual assessment mechanism with an automated computer-based system that processes CT images algorithmically. This substitution eliminates human factors such as fatigue, cognitive experience differences, and subjective interpretation, thereby improving diagnostic accuracy while maintaining ease of operation through automated workflows.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent transforms the subjective visual assessment process into an objective parameter-based calculation system. By automatically identifying target areas and computing ASPECTS scores based on predefined criteria, the system converts subjective interpretation into quantifiable, reproducible parameters, thereby ensuring consistent agreement across different assessments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of operation

If manual partition determination is performed, then flexibility in assessment is maintained, but diagnosis and treatment are delayed due to time-consuming analysis

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflexibility in assessmentVSAvoiddiagnosis time

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary automated identification of target areas and calculation of ASPECTS scores before the clinician needs to make a diagnosis. The system pre-processes the CT images, automatically segments relevant brain regions, and computes the grading score, thereby eliminating time-consuming manual analysis while maintaining assessment flexibility through automated workflows.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS11935283B2Cranial CT-based grading method and system

Publication Date: 2024.03.19 UNION STRONG (BEIJING) TECH CO LTD

AI summary

Disclosed are a cranial CT-based grading method and a corresponding system, which relate to the field of medical imaging. The cranial CT-based grading method as disclosed solves the problems of relatively great subjective disparities and poor operability in eye-balling ASPECTS assessment. The grading method includes: determining frames where target image slices are located from to-be-processed multi-frame cranial CT data; extracting target areas; performing infarct judgment on each target area included in the target areas to output an infarct judgment outcome regarding the target area; and outputting a grading outcome based on infarct judgment outcomes regarding all target areas. The grading method and system as disclosed may eliminate or mitigate the diagnosis disparities caused by human factors and imaging deviations due to different imaging devices, and shorten the time taken by human observation, consideration, and bared-eye grading, thereby serving as a computer-aided method to provide reference for medical studies on stoke.