Acute Multi-modal Neuroimaging in a Porcine Model of Endothelin-1-Induced Cerebral Ischemia: Defining the Acute Infarct Core

In a porcine ischemic stroke model, we sought to compare the acute predicted infarct core volume (PIV) defined by CT perfusion (CTP)-hemodynamic parameters and MR-diffusion-weighted imaging (MR-DWI)/apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), with the true infarct core volume (TIV) as defined by histology. Ten Duroc-cross pigs had a CTP scan prior to injection of endothelin-1 (ET-1) into the left striatum. CTP scans were used to monitor ischemic progression. A second dose of ET-1 was injected 2 h from the first injection. The animal was moved to a 3-T MRI scanner where DWI was performed. CTP imaging was acquired immediately after the MR imaging. Next, the brain was removed and stained with tetrazolium chloride (TTC). Linear regression and Bland-Altman plots were used to correlate the PIV measured by each imaging modality to that of the TIV from the histological gold standard. The CTP-cerebral blood flow (CBF) parameter had the highest R (2) value and slope closest to unity, while the CTP-cerebral blood volume (CBV) had the lowest R(2) value and slope furthest away from unity. The CTP-CBF • CBV product parameter had a higher R(2) value but lower slope than both MR parameers. The best Bland-Altman agreement was observed with the CTP-CBF parameter. PIV from MR-DWI, ADC, and CTP-CBF overestimated the TIV defined with histology. We show that the PIV defined with absolute gray and white matter CT-CBF thresholds correlates best with the TIV and is similar to both MR-DWI and ADC-defined PIVs. Further, the acute CBF • CBV mismatch may not indicate penumbral tissue in the acute stroke setting.