Interventional Neuroradiology at Alexian Brothers Neurosciences Institute

Research Studies

Interventional Management of Stroke Trial III (IMS III)

The Interventional Management of Stroke Trial-III (IMS-III) is a prospective, multi-center study funded by the National Institutes of Health to assess treatments for acute stroke. The IMS-III trial seeks to compare the effectiveness, safety, and financial impact of a combined intravenous (IV) and intra-arterial (IA) treatment approach to restoring blood flow to the brain versus a single treatment of IV medication alone. Those eligible to participate must present to the emergency department early enough for the treatment to be initiated within 3 hours of stroke symptom onset. It is projected that 900 people will be enrolled at more than 40 medical centers worldwide.

Alexian Brothers Medical Center enrolled its first patient in the IMS-III study in December 2006, and we continue to actively enroll in this study. "We are very enthusiastic about this important stroke trial and pleased to be able to actively contribute to the evidence driving stroke care," says Dr. Tim Malisch, Director of Interventional Neuroradiology at Alexian Brothers Medical Center.

For more information on this study, please visit www.ims3.org

MERCI Registry

The Merci Registry is a broad-based, prospective study of the use of Concentric Medical's family of Merci Retrievers to restore blood flow in patients who have suffered an ischemic stroke by removing blood clots. Concentric Medical plans to seek enrollment of at least 1,000 patients at up to 50 centers world-wide in this registry of stroke intervention cases.

In addition to capturing a variety of procedural and clinical data from patients treated with the full range of Merci Retrievers and any adjunctive therapies, Concentric will also collect imaging data from centers willing to provide such data and will work with clinicians to better understand the correlation between advanced pre-procedure imaging and clinical outcomes.

According to Marilyn Rymer, MD, neurologist and head of the St. Luke's Brain and Stroke Institute in Kansas City, MO, "We are excited to be enrolling in the Merci Registry, and believe that the results from such a broad-based effort will further confirm the value and efficacy of mechanical embolectomy with the Merci Retrievers in patients suffering from ischemic stroke." Concentric Medical estimates that over 5,000 patients have been treated with its devices.

For more information regarding the Merci device, please visit http://www.concentric-medical.com