Multi-modality multi-task model for mRS prediction using diffusion-weighted resonance imaging

This study focuses on predicting the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke patients with focal neurologic symptoms using a combination of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) and clinical information. The primary outcome is a poor functional outcome defined by a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 3–6 after 3 months of stroke. Employing nnUnet for DWI lesion segmentation, the study utilizes both multi-task and multi-modality methodologies, integrating DWI and clinical data for prognosis prediction. Integrating the two modalities was shown to improve performance by 0.04 compared to using DWI only. The model achieves notable performance metrics, with a dice score of 0.7375 for lesion segmentation and an area under the curve of 0.8080 for mRS prediction. These results surpass existing scoring systems, showing a 0.16 improvement over the Totaled Health Risks in Vascular Events score. The study further employs grad-class activation maps to identify critical brain regions influencing mRS scores. Analysis of the feature map reveals the efficacy of the multi-tasking nnUnet in predicting poor outcomes, providing insights into the interplay between DWI and clinical data. In conclusion, the integrated approach demonstrates significant advancements in prognosis prediction for cerebral infarction patients, offering a superior alternative to current scoring systems.