Demonstration of brain temperature as a parameter for treatment stratification after acute ischemic stroke

Prior research has demonstrated the benefits of endovascular thrombectomy after acute ischemic stroke. Despite improvements in surgical techniques, patient selection for thrombectomy remains challenging. In this case study, we explored the utility of brain temperature to accurately predict infarct core and salvageable tissue to stratify patients for thrombectomy. We observed infarct volume estimated from temperature maps was more similar than CT perfusion to the true infarct volume identified using apparent diffusion coefficient images from diffusion weighted imaging. Temperature-based ischemia-to-infarct ratio showed better patient stratification than conventional methods, suggesting the complementary use of brain temperature in patient selection after ischemic stroke.