Quantitative Cerebral Blood Flow Thresholds May Predict the Absolute Penumbra and Final Infarct Volume Using Bookend DSC-MR PWI Technique with Concentric ROI Analysis

Justin Vranic¹, Parmede Vakil, Ali Habib, Alexander Korutz, Michael C. Hurley, Timothy J. Carroll, Sameer A. Ansari

Following acute ischemic stroke, accurate evaluation of current and future tissue infarction is essential to patient outcomes. Using Bookend dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion weighted imaging (DSC-MR PWI) to measure quantitative cerebral blood flow (qCBF), we investigated the ability of qCBF to predict future tissue infarction in acute stroke patients. In this retrospective study, we report that cerebral tissue that infarcted within 72 hours of initial imaging had a qCBF of 14.510.41 ml/100g/min whereas tissue that survived had a qCBF of 16.850.06 ml/100g/min. These results indicate that appropriate qCBF thresholds may be able to serve as accurate predictors of tissue infarction.