The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) is a clinical calculator used in the field of neurology, specifically for patients who have suffered an acute ischemic stroke. This scoring system is used to quantify the extent of early ischemic changes on computed tomography (CT) scans of the brain. The ASPECTS score is particularly useful in determining the eligibility of patients for acute stroke interventions such as thrombolysis or thrombectomy. It helps clinicians to predict the potential benefits and risks of these interventions, by estimating the size of the ischemic core and the remaining salvageable brain tissue. The score ranges from 0 to 10, with lower scores indicating more extensive ischemic changes. There are no specific exclusion criteria for its use, but it is less applicable in hemorrhagic stroke or in patients with previous significant brain pathology that may confound the interpretation of the CT scan.

Alberta stroke program early CT score (ASPECTS)

# Criteria
 #Ischemic changes
A. Subcortical structures: caudate (+1)
B. Subcortical structures: internal Capsule (+1)
C. Subcortical structures: lentiform nucleus (+1)
D. MCA cortex: insular ribbon (+1)
E. MCA cortex: anterior MCA cortex (M1) (+1)
F. MCA cortex : MCA cortex lateral to the insular ribbon (M2) (+1)
G. MCA cortex : posterior MCA cortex (M3) (+1)
H. MCA Cortex : anterior cortex immediately superior to M1 (+1)
I. MCA Cortex : lateral cortex immediately superior to M2 (+1)
J. MCA Cortex : posterior cortex immediately superior to M3 (+1)

# Conditions
- score == 0
- score <= 3
- score >= 4

Validity and reliability of a quantitative computed tomography score in predicting outcome of hyperacute stroke before thrombolytic therapy. ASPECTS Study Group. Alberta Stroke Programme Early CT Score.