Imaging Biomarkers for Acute Ischemic Stroke

All participations underwent MRI on a 1.5 or 3.0 Tesla scanner (1.5 Tesla MAGNETOM Avanto; 3.0 Tesla MAGNETOM Skyra; Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) within 24 h after admission. Moreover, DWI, ADC, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, and time-of-flight MR angiography were conducted according to the routine protocol of stroke. Two experienced vascular neurologists, who were blinded to the clinical data, reviewed all imaging data, and selected eligible participants (κ-value, 0.89). Radiological features (location of the infarction, branch atheromatous disease [BAD], and visible layers of axial slices on DWI) were recorded. BAD of the lenticulostriate arteries was defined as infarcts with the maximum diameter of 10–20 mm on axial slices and being visible for no less than three axial slices, and that of the anterior pontine arteries was defined as unilateral infarcts extending to the basal surface of the pons [12 (link)].