Applications of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Stroke for Multidimensional Assessment

Stroke remains a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. Accurate diagnosis of stroke is vital for guiding treatment decisions and predicting outcomes. Different types of strokes have distinct pathological processes, but they share many common symptoms with other brain disorders. Differential diagnosis of stroke is important but challenging; with non-invasive nature, diverse sequences, and high spatiotemporal resolution, it enables multidimensional assessment of stroke. It can detect hemodynamic and structural changes in intracranial arteries, and the metabolic state of relevant brain regions. MRI can differentiate between ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and other intracranial vascular lesions. To improve diagnostic accuracy, numerous methods and algorithms have been proposed towards precise diagnosis. This chapter first briefly introduces the concept of structural MRI and its role in precise diagnosis of stroke.