MR Imaging Helps Predict Time from Symptom Onset in Patients with Acute Stroke: Implications for Patients with Unknown Onset Time

Abstract

Signal intensity changes on 1.5-T FLAIR MR images can be used as a surrogate marker of stroke age, either qualitatively or quantitatively. This suggests that MR imaging might be used as a "clock" for determining stroke age in patients with an unknown onset time, potentially increasing the number of patients who are eligible for thrombolysis.