Acute Ischemic Stroke Imaging and Outcome Prediction
Summary
Acute ischaemic stroke results from abrupt arterial occlusion leading to deprivation of oxygen and nutrients in the brain. Rapid and accurate imaging is essential to distinguish the irreversibly injured core from the surrounding penumbra where tissue may be salvaged by timely reperfusion. Conventional modalities such as non-contrast CT and diffusion-weighted MRI provide structural delineation of infarcted tissue, while CT perfusion and perfusion-weighted MRI quantify cerebral blood flow, volume and delay parameters. Advanced techniques including digital vascular atlases, radiomic feature extraction and machine-learning models now enhance lesion mapping, estimate lesion age and predict haemorrhagic transformation. Integration of quantitative imaging biomarkers—such as infarct volume, thrombus perviousness and water uptake—with clinical scores underpins prognostic modelling and supports personalised therapy decisions, optimising patient selection for thrombolysis and thrombectomy.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Acute Ischemic Stroke Imaging and Outcome Prediction publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in acute ischemic stroke imaging and outcome prediction across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Ischaemic core: Region of irreversibly injured brain tissue with perfusion below critical thresholds.
Penumbra: Surrounding hypoperfused tissue at risk of infarction but potentially salvageable with reperfusion.
Net water uptake (NWU): CT-derived metric quantifying increased water content in ischaemic tissue as a marker of infarct progression.
Perviousness: Degree to which a thrombus permits passage of contrast agent, measured by changes in CT attenuation over time.
Radiomics: Extraction of quantitative image features (texture, shape, intensity) for predictive modelling.
Time-to-maximum (Tmax): Perfusion parameter indicating the delay of contrast arrival, used to identify hypoperfused regions.
References
- Deep learning biomarker of chronometric and biological ischemic stroke lesion age from unenhanced CT. npj Digital Medicine (2024).
- Digital 3D Brain MRI Arterial Territories Atlas. Scientific Data (2023).
- Dynamic Perviousness of Thrombi in Acute Ischemic Stroke Predicts Clinical Outcome after Reperfusion Therapy. Sci (2024).
- Radiomics in Stroke Neuroimaging: Techniques, Applications, and Challenges. Aging and Disease (2021).
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.