Multidetector Computed Tomography in Cerebrovascular Disease: CT Perfusion Imaging PDF

Preface

It is now more than 25 years since Leon Axel proposed a method for determination of cerebral blood flow from rapid-sequence contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT). Today, the availability of rapid imaging with multidetector CT systems and commercial analysis software has made perfusion imaging with CT an everyday technique for clinical practice.

CT remains an essential tool in the assessment of patients with cerebrovascular disease, especially in the evaluation of patients presenting acutely out-of-hours or as a non-invasive method for imaging cerebral blood vessels. Indeed, perfusion CT is not unlike cerebral angiography, but depicts the functional status of the cerebral circulation at tissue level rather than visualizing the morphology of discrete vessels. Perfusion CT is readily performed as an adjunct to both conventional CT and CT angiography and it is therefore unsurprising that cerebral perfusion CT should be increasingly used to assess patients with a range of diseases of the cerebral circulation, providing additional complementary information whilst avoiding the need to transfer the patient to another imaging device. With the advent of novel therapeutic strategies for patients suffering acute stroke, the physiological information provided by perfusion CT is likely to become of yet greater clinical significance.

This book is the first to be dedicated solely to the application of perfusion CT in cerebrovascular disease. The aim is to provide the technical knowledge required to perform reliable cerebral perfusion CT, to give an understanding of the pathophysiology relevant to disorders of the cerebral circulation, and to outline the ability of the technique to enhance diagnosis, prognosis, treatment selection and therapy monitoring for patients suffering acute stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage and other conditions involving cerebral blood vessels. The advantages and disadvantages of  perfusion CT are described in comparison to other methods for imaging cerebral blood flow. The technique is also portrayed in its historical context. The book will therefore be of interest to radiologists and radiographers currently using perfusion CT or considering its introduction to their institution. The information will also be valuable to clinicians treating patients with cerebrovascular disease.