Periventricular hypodensity in hydrocephalus: a clinico-radiological and mathematial analysis using computed tomography.

The computed tomography (CT) scans carried out in hydrocephalic patients before and after surgical treatment [cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting] were assessed by analysis of the densities. The numerical data were compared to the pictorial record on the display console. The periventricular hypodensity was correlated to the clinical parameters and to the time lapse after surgical treatment. The subependymal hypodensity shows good direct correlation to the transit of CSF from the ventricles to the white matter, and to the clinical status of the patients. The mathematical analysis supplies objective data and comparable indices. It constitutes the starting point for an automatic evaluation of the CT images of the process of transependymal CSF resorption in non-treated and treated hydrocephalus.