Assessment of the irradiated brain by quantitative computerized tomography scan analysis—II. Application in studies of the necrotic and edematous braint

Abstract In this second part of a 2 part report, the authors present clinical application of the methods developed in Part I, a quantitative analysis of brain parenchyma and ventricular volume. Part II presents computerized tomography (CT) studies and histogram analyses of a patient with cerebral edema and 2 patients with autopsy proven radiation necrosis. Preliminary data from CT number frequency distributions for normal, edematous and necrotic brain suggest that while reversible and irreversible changes in brain tissue may not be separable on evaluation of brain parenchyma alone, quantitative analysis of CT numbers for cerebrospinal fluid in large numbers of patients may provide the basis for differentiating degrees of radiation damage.