CT Angiography and Perfusion CT in Acute Stroke: Principles and Applications

Because non-contrast-enhanced CT is usually the first radiologic examination in acute stroke, the additional informafion supplied by perfusion CT and CTA can be rapidly obtained without removing the patient from the scanner table. This additional contrast imaging is only associated with a minimal delay in treatment. Such multiparametric CT protocols allow a comprehensive diagnosis of emergency stroke patients within less than 15 min by combining NECT, PCT, and CTA. This kind of stroke CT imaging may even become faster with the new 16- and 32-slice scanners. Last but not least, stroke CT, as opposed to stroke MRI, is a low cost examination.