Predicting Intracranial Pressure Levels: A Deep Learning Approach Using Computed Tomography Brain Scans

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a serious condition that demands prompt diagnosis to avoid significant neurological injury or even death. Although invasive techniques remain the "gold standard" for ICP measuring, they are time-consuming and pose risks of complications. Various noninvasive methods have been suggested, but their experimental status limits their use in emergency situations. On the other hand, although artificial intelligence has rapidly evolved, it has not yet fully harnessed fast-acquisition modalities such as computed tomography (CT) scans to evaluate ICP. This is likely due to the lack of available annotated data sets. In this article, we present research that addresses this gap by training four distinct deep learning models on a custom data set, enhanced with demographical and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) values. METHODS: A key innovation of our study is the incorporation of demographical data and GCS values as additional channels of the scans. The models were trained and validated on a custom data set consisting of paired CT brain scans (n = 578) with corresponding ICP values, supplemented by GCS scores and demographical data. The algorithm addresses a binary classification problem by predicting whether ICP levels exceed a predetermined threshold of 15 mm Hg. RESULTS: The top-performing models achieved an area under the curve of 88.3% and a recall of 81.8%. An algorithm that enhances the transparency of the model's decisions was used to provide insights into where the models focus when generating outcomes, both for the best and lowest-performing models. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the potential of AI-based models to evaluate ICP levels from brain CT scans with high recall. Although promising, further improvements are necessary in the future to validate these findings and improve clinical applicability.