Detection of the Ischemic Penumbra Using pH-Weighted MRI

The classic definition of the ischemic penumbra is a hypoperfused region in which metabolism is impaired, but still sufficient to maintain cellular polarization. Perfusion- and diffusion-weighted MRI (PWI, DWI) can identify regions of reduced perfusion and cellular depolarization, respectively, but it often remains unclear whether a PWI—DWI mismatch corresponds to benign oligemia or a true penumbra. We hypothesized that pH-weighted MRI (pHWI)...