Deep Learning in Ischemic Stroke Imaging Analysis: A Comprehensive Review

Ischemic stroke is a cerebrovascular disease with a high morbidity and mortality rate, which poses a serious challenge to human health and life. Meanwhile, the management of ischemic stroke remains highly dependent on manual visual analysis of noncontrast computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, artifacts and noise of the equipment as well as the radiologist experience play a significant role on diagnostic accuracy. To overcome these defects, the number of computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) methods for ischemic stroke is increasing substantially during the past decade. Particularly, deep learning models with massive data learning capabilities are recognized as powerful auxiliary tools for the acute intervention and guiding prognosis of ischemic stroke. To select appropriate interventions, facilitate clinical practice, and improve the clinical outcomes of patients, this review firstly surveys the current state-of-the-art deep learning technology. Then, we summarized the major applications in acute ischemic stroke imaging, particularly in exploring the potential function of stroke diagnosis and multimodal prognostication. Finally, we sketched out the current problems and prospects.