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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jul 15.
Published in final edited form as: Int Rev Psychiatry. 2009;21(4):394–409. doi: 10.1080/09540260902962198

Table II.

Comparison of commonly used hyperintensity measurement scales.

Fazekas Coffey Boyko
Periventricular hyperintensity
 0 Absent Absent Absent
 1 Caps/pencil-thin lining Caps Hypointense to grey matter and hyperintense to CSF on proton density images
 2 Smooth halo Smooth halo Isointense to grey matter and hyperintense to CSF on proton density images
 3 Irregular and extending into deep white matter Irregular and extending into deep white matter Hyperintense to CSF on T2-weighted images
 4 NA NA Hyperintense to CSF on T2-weighted images and isointense to CSF on T1-weighted images
Deep white matter hyperintensity
 0 Absent Absent Absent
 1 Punctate foci Punctuate foci Punctate
 2 Beginning of confluence of foci Beginning confluence of foci Rounded ( <5 mm)
 3 Large confluent areas Large confluent areas Irregular ( >5 mm)
 4 NA NA Confluent lesions
Subcortical grey matter hyperintensity
 0 NA Absent Absent
 1 NA Punctuate Punctuate
 2 NA Multi-punctate Rounded (<5 mm)
 3 NA Diffuse Irregular (>5 mm)
 4 NA NA Confluent lesions
Frontal caps
 0 NA NA Absent
 1 NA NA Present
Subependymal hyperintensity
 0 NA NA Absent
 1 NA NA Thin
 2 NA NA Thick (>2 mm)