Untangling the Carotid Artery Web
Left to right: John Oshinski and Jason Allen
Internal carotid artery webs are vascular abnormalities found in up to 40% of patients with cryptogenic strokes, particularly younger patients. Emory Radiology’s associate professors John Oshinski, PhD, Center for Systems Imaging director, and Jason Allen, MD, PhD, director of the Division of Neuroradiology, were awarded a two-year R21 grant from the National Institutes of Health to use 4D flow MRI to quantify the effects of carotid webs on blood flow patterns in comparison to age-matched healthy subjects. The approach innovatively blends the clinical expertise of Dr. Allen and Diogo Haussen, MD, an assistant professor and neurointerventional specialist at Grady who will assist with patient recruitment and assessment, with Dr. Oshinski’s expertise in fluid mechanics and hemodynamic analysis. The team hopes to lay the groundwork for utilizing 4D flow MRI as a tool for evaluating the patient-specific relative stroke risk and directing treatment.
“4D flow MRI has the potential to provide impactful insights into the altered hemodynamics produced by carotid webs and this study may lead to a new diagnostic biomarker to help direct treatment in carotid web patients,” says Dr. Oshinski.
“4D flow MRI has the potential to provide impactful insights into the altered hemodynamics produced by carotid webs and this study may lead to a new diagnostic biomarker to help direct treatment in carotid web patients,” says Dr. Oshinski.