Cerebral vascular abnormalities, such as unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs), can result in poor clinical outcomes or death. A statistical atlas of the cerebral vasculature based on healthy controls can be used to identify abnormalities in patients. This atlas was registered to 19 patients with an UIA and 18 healthy controls. Z-score values were computed for the vessels in the Circle of Willis, indicating if and where the vessel radius deviates from the atlas. A color-coded Z-score map was made, to aid radiologists in identifying cerebral vascular abnormalities. Results showed that patients with UIAs have statistically significantly higher Z-score values than healthy controls. In addition, in 17/19 patients the Z-score values at the location of the UIA were statistically significantly higher than elsewhere in the Circle of Willis. This indicates that this technique can both be used to identify patients-at-risk with an abnormal cerebral vasculature, as well as guide visual search for UIAs with 89 % detection sensitivity.
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