The Little Book of Irish Science SFI Little Book of Irish Science | Page 92

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Early warning system
against stroke
What if you could predict a person’s risk of stroke before
it happened? This is the aim of HRB Clinician Scientist,
Prof Peter Kelly at the Mater Misericordiae University
Hospital and UCD. He and his team are studying plaque
build-up in the carotid arteries of patients who have
had a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a mild stroke that
doesn’t cause apparent damage. Using PET imaging
and MRI to assess the extent of infl ammation and the
structure of plaque deposition, the team can build
up a risk profi le of imminent stroke and take
preventative measures.
www.mater.ie
www.ucd.ie