Arterial Wall Shear Stress After Intracranial Artery Recanalization

There has been consistent research on the cerebral blood flow features in ischemic stroke patients with acute occlusion of major intracranial arteries. However, studies analyzing the overall features of the major intracranial artery blood flow in the periods of pre and post-recanalization are still lacking. Time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) is extensively utilized to evaluate the intracranial arteries. The arterial signal intensity from MRA-TOF varies across subjects and arterial subtypes, leading to the development of the Signal Intensity Gradient (SIG) concept. SIG has demonstrated a strong correlation with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), a known method for reflecting wall shear stress. SIG could be associated with the pathophysiology of wall shear stress. We aim to investigate the blood flow patterns and characteristics in the periods of pre and post-recanalization using SIG.