NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell is home to one of the most comprehensive neuro-imaging programs in the region. Advanced imaging tools provide detailed information about anatomy and function in the brain, leading to more accurate diagnosis, more effective treatment, and better patient outcomes. Sophisticated high-definition and 3-D imaging available 24/7 on-site includes:
• CT (computed tomography)
• CT perfusion/angiography
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
• MR perfusion/angiography
• Neurovascular ultrasound
• Brain monitoring
Our physicians use the most advanced neuromonitoring techniques and image-guided endovascular therapies. For example, we use the latest mobile brain scanning technology, allowing critically ill patients to be imaged at the bedside.
Many minimally invasive, imaging-guided procedures facilitate the treatment of conditions that would have required surgery in the past. Examples include:
• Mechanical clot extraction devices, including Penumbra (Penumbra Inc.) and Solitaire (Covidien), to remove clots that block arteries in the brain and cause ischemic stroke.
• Coil and glue embolization to close off weakened arteries in brain aneurysms and congenital vascular malformations, reducing the risk of future hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke.
• Angioplasty and stenting to open arteries in the neck and brain and enhance blood flow.
• Bedside ultrasound to image the brain and neck arteries and identify blood clots and other blockages. In other patients, ultrasound is used to diagnose increased brain pressure and to optimize the flow of blood to brain tissue.
• Minimally invasive monitoring to evaluate moment-to-moment heart filling and blood pressure.
• Minimally invasive brain monitoring to directly monitor and optimize pressure, temperature, blood flow, and chemistry in injured brain tissue — parameters that are critical for optimal treatment and for avoiding secondary injury to the brain.
• Continuous electrophysiological monitoring of brain activity to immediately detect clinically silent seizures as an early warning of secondary brain injury and as a tool to predict a patient's outcome.