Predicting the onset of ischemic stroke with multi-parametric mapping based on multiple overlapping-echo detachment (MQMOLED) technique

Motivation: Multi-parametric quantitative magnetic resonance imaging can characterize tissue properties of ischemic stroke patients noninvasively, but it is generally time consuming and susceptible to motions. Goal(s): Investigate the value of single-shot multi-parametric mapping based on multiple overlapping-echo detachment (MQMOLED) method in distinguishing acute (≤7 days) and non-acute (>7 days) ischemic stroke patients. Approach: MQMOLED was applied on ischemic stroke patients (N = 94) to obtain their T2 and ADC maps, based on which histogram analysis was performed. Results: The combination of histogram parameters of T2 and ADC maps effectively discriminated between acute and non-acute ischemic stroke patients (AUC = 0.928). Impact: The MQMOLED approach shows improvement in predicting acute and non-acute stroke patients. Ultrafast and motion-robust MQMOLED can be included in routine clinical MRI protocols to help patient stratification management for a timely beneficial therapy.