SWITCH is a half-day workshop focused on imaging related to stroke diagnosis and treatment. The main goals of the workshop are 1) to introduce the clinical background of challenges/opportunities related to imaging for stroke that are relevant for researchers working in the MICCAI field, and 2) to stimulate discussion and ideas exchange. To this end, there will be keynotes by clinical experts in stroke imaging and treatment, as well as presentations by researchers of on-going work. The tutorial character of the keynotes makes this workshop a perfect introduction for the ISLES workshop in the afternoon.
SWITCH is soliciting manuscripts that contribute to the workshop, addressing among others one of the following subjects:
We encourage work involving, among others, the following imaging modalities:
Submissions should follow the LNCS guidelines for formatting, and consists of full papers of at most 8 pages.
All submitted manuscripts will be reviewed by the organizing committee on applicability to the workshop topic, scientific quality and clinical relevance. Note that we value novel methodology as well as thorough evaluation. Accepted manuscripts will get an oral presentation during the workshop at MICCAI. The SWITCH half-day workshop will join the MICCAI initiative for bundled joint Sep 2017: LNCS Proceedings of the satellite events.
Stroke, as a result of insufficient blood supply to the brain, is the 4th cause of death and disability world-wide. The causes of stroke are either a bleeding (hemorrhage) in the brain, or an occlusion of a vessel feeding (part of) the brain. In the latter case, the occlusion may originate from a brain vessel itself, or be a thrombus that originates from a more proximal location (heart, carotid artery).
Currently patients generally undergo non-contrast CT imaging, as well as a contrast-enhanced protocol: single phase CTA, multiphase CTA, or CT Perfusion. Some studies also involve MR imaging. From these images, information such as lesion and lesion size, composition of the thrombus, collateral flow and perfusion of brain tissue may be obtained, but few validated tools and quantitative imaging biomarkers have been developed and evaluated for clinical use so far. Often, subjective and at best semi-quantitative measures (e.g. ASPECT score for ischemic stroke) based on the CT images are being used to select patients and to decide on treatment strategy. A recent study that discussed 5 large clinical trials regarding stroke treatment concluded that “it is time to evaluate the optimal imaging protocol for hyper-acute stroke”.
Therefore, the main purposes of this Workshop are
Thus, we intend to compose a program with presentations by researchers of on-going work, based on submitted manuscripts as well as key-note presentations by clinical experts in stroke management, modern imaging for stroke.
Challenges in stroke imaging that will be addressed by the keynotes are:
Please contact us for further questions and comments via email at switch@miccai2017.org