ASPECTS Program

The scale is only relevant for the middle cerebral artery (MCA) basin

• Healthy person - 10 points
• Each affected basin of the MCA blood supply corresponds to 1 point
• Involvement of the entire MCA basin - 0 points

Practical Application:

• within the first 3 hours of stroke, ASPECTS scores inversely correlate with severity on the NIHSS scale
• 7 points or less - predicts poor functional outcome and risk of intracerebral hemorrhage
• 8 points or less - thrombolysis is not effective

To indicate the ischemic area, all slices at the following levels are required:

• Basal ganglia



• Rostral structures



• M1 - M3 are assessed at the level of the basal ganglia
• M4 - M6 are assessed at the ventricular level just above the previous level
• Pathological changes must be visible on at least two consecutive sections

Launching the "ASPECTS" Program

• Click on the "Programs" button in the Tool Panel, "Studies" group
• Click on the "ASPECTS" button
• The screen will split into 2 panels:
  
  • Axial scans
  • Control panel

Controlling the Reflection Line Position

• Hide the 3D lines with the keyboard key
• Hover the cursor over the end of the reflection line
  Hold down the left mouse button and move it
• Repeat the operation for the opposite end
• After setting the reflection line, you can hide/show it by clicking the button in the program header again
• Turn the 3D lines display back on with the keyboard key, if necessary

Control Panel

MCA Territory Region Buttons

• C (Caudate) - caudate nucleus
• I (Insula) - insula
• IC - (Internal Capsule) - internal capsule
• L- (Lentiformis) - lentiform nucleus
• M1 - anterior MCA territory
• M2 - lateral MCA territory
• M3 - posterior MCA territory
• M4, M5, M6 - anterior, lateral, and posterior MCA territories superior to M1, M2, and M3 territories

Markup Tool

• Click the down arrow
• Click on the tool name

Sequence of Actions

• Click the button with the abbreviation of the MCA territory region affected by ischemia
• Outline the ischemic zone on the axial scan
• Scroll through the images with the wheel, outlining the zone on at least 2 adjacent scans
• Repeat the above steps for all territories with identified ischemic zones
• The result in points changes dynamically

• The score depends only on the number of territories affected
• With one button you can select an infinite number of areas without affecting the result

Saving Results

Saving in Vidar Dicom Viewer

Saving the Result to the Study Report

Saving an Image with Marked Ischemic Zones

• Click the "Print" button to send the on-screen image for printing
• Click the "Save Custom Series" button to save the on-screen image to a custom series (it will be located at the end of the study in the Preview Bar)

Saving Areas and Measurements

Exiting the "ASPECTS" Program

• Click the "ASPECTS" button in the program header
• Click on the "Exit Mode" item