Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39572171›Full record

ArticleStroke and vascular neurology2025

Development of a deep learning method to identify acute ischaemic stroke lesions on brain CT.

Alessandro Fontanella, Wenwen Li, Grant Mair, Antreas Antoniou, Eleanor Platt, Paul Armitage, Emanuele Trucco, Joanna M Wardlaw, Amos Storkey

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Stroke and vascular neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Alessandro Fontanella *The University of Edinburgh School of Informatics, Edinburgh, UK A.Fontanella@sms.ed.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4885-9407
Wenwen Li *The University of Edinburgh Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.
Grant Mair *The University of Edinburgh Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2189-443X
Antreas AntoniouThe University of Edinburgh School of Informatics, Edinburgh, UK.
Eleanor PlattThe University of Edinburgh School of Informatics, Edinburgh, UK.
Paul ArmitageThe University of Sheffield School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Emanuele TruccoUniversity of Dundee School of Science and Engineering, Dundee, UK.
Joanna M WardlawThe University of Edinburgh Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9812-6642
Amos StorkeyThe University of Edinburgh School of Informatics, Edinburgh, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCT is commonly used to image patients with ischaemic stroke but radiologist interpretation may be delayed. Machine learning techniques can provide rapid automated CT assessment but are usually developed from annotated images which necessarily limits the size and representation of development data sets. We aimed to develop a deep learning (DL) method using CT brain scans that were labelled but not annotated for the presence of ischaemic lesions.

methodsWe designed a convolutional neural network-based DL algorithm to detect ischaemic lesions on CT. Our algorithm was trained using routinely acquired CT brain scans collected for a large multicentre international trial. These scans had previously been labelled by experts for acute and chronic appearances. We explored the impact of ischaemic lesion features, background brain appearances and timing of CT (baseline or 24-48 hour follow-up) on DL performance.

resultsFrom 5772 CT scans of 2347 patients (median age 82), 54% had visible ischaemic lesions according to experts. Our DL method achieved 72% accuracy in detecting ischaemic lesions. Detection was better for larger (80% accuracy) or multiple (87% accuracy for two, 100% for three or more) lesions and with follow-up scans (76% accuracy vs 67% at baseline). Chronic brain conditions reduced accuracy, particularly non-stroke lesions and old stroke lesions (32% and 31% error rates, respectively).

conclusionDL methods can be designed for ischaemic lesion detection on CT using the vast quantities of routinely collected brain scans without the need for lesion annotation. Ultimately, this should lead to more robust and widely applicable methods.

Indexed as

Brain IschemiaDeep LearningIschemic StrokeRadiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-AssistedTomography, X-Ray ComputedAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPredictive Value of TestsReproducibility of ResultsTime FactorsBrainCTStroke

Identifiers

PMID39572171
PMCPMC12415648

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.