BiomarkersHumans106 participantsCross-sectional study

Software measures age-related calcium deposits on brain scans

Automated deposit volumes closely tracked manual measurements, with a correlation of 0.964, in a study using scans from 106 people.

Figure 1 from Scientific Reports
Open the figure at full size
Figure 1Lee et al. · CC BY

Scientific Reports

In a human observational imaging study, researchers used brain scans from 106 people to develop software that measured calcium deposits in the choroid plexus, tissue that produces the fluid surrounding the brain. They tested combinations of magnetic resonance images and outlines marking the tissue and its deposits. One scan method, quantitative susceptibility mapping, measures the magnetic properties of tissue without ionising radiation.

Combining this method with another type of magnetic resonance image gave the closest correspondence between automated and manual volume measurements, with a correlation of 0.964. In a validation group of 22 people, volumes measured with this scan method correlated with volumes from computed tomography, an X-ray scan method, at 0.728. In a separate group of 91 people, deposit volume was associated with older age.

Why it matters

These age-related deposits have been associated with brain inflammation and cognitive decline. Easier measurement could support larger studies following their clinical significance over time.

Caveats

This observational feasibility study assessed scan measurements, not whether the deposits cause cognitive decline. The comparison with computed tomography involved only 22 people.

The paper

Deep learning-based segmentation of choroid plexus calcification on quantitative susceptibility mapping: a feasibility study

Lee N, Jeong H, Jeong E et al.

Scientific Reports · 6 Oct 2026 · CC BY

doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-73342-9

More on Deep learning