Neurosonology Laboratory

Located within the Neurosciences Center in the Outpatient Care Center (1801 W. Taylor, Suite 4E), the Neurosonology Laboratory is a satellite of the accredited University of Illinois Hospital Vascular Laboratory providing Carotid Duplex and Transcranial Doppler ultrasound services.

Inpatient Services

The Inpatient Stroke Service is staffed on a rotating basis by Vascular Neurology faculty members. This specialty inpatient service manages patients with cerebrovascular disorders admitted to our Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Certified Telemetry Unit and Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The stroke service also provides consultative services to other inpatient areas of the hospital and Emergency Department and assists remote institutions that lack stroke expertise via telemedicine. Inpatient Stroke Service team members include board certified vascular neurologists, vascular neurology fellows, residents, stroke nurse coordinator, social workers, discharge planners, physical, occupational, and speech therapies, clinical pharmacists, and rehabilitative medicine specialists.

UI Health recently became a Joint Commission Comprehensive Certified Stroke Center in 2015. Performance indicators represent quality metrics used by the Joint Commission to evaluate adherence to established guidelines and can give you insight into a hospital’s ability to manage complex stroke patients. Learn more about UIC stroke outcomes.

The Acute Stroke Team provides emergent consultation 24 hours daily to the Emergency Department and University of Illinois at Chicago inpatient areas for acute stroke patients who may be eligible for pharmacological, endovascular, or surgical recanalization therapies.

The Neurocritical Care Service is staffed on a rotating basis by Neurointensivist faculty members, based in the 22 bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at the University of Illinois-Chicago. This specialty inpatient service manages patients with conditions including but not limited to cerebrovascular disorders such as ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, brain trauma, seizures, CNS infections, and postoperative neurosurgical patients admitted to our Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. The Neurocritical Care team members include board certified neurointensivists, vascular neurology fellows, neurology and neurosurgery residents, stroke nurse coordinators, social workers, discharge planners, physical, occupational, and speech therapists, clinical pharmacists, and rehabilitative medicine specialists.

Contact our stroke nurse Maureen Hillmann, RN at 312 355-3863 or hillmann@uic.edu for more information.

In addition to major participation in the education of UIC Neurology residents and medical students, two ACGME-accredited Vascular Neurology Fellowships are available. Interested candidates should contact Maria Mata, Program Coordinator at 312 996-6496 or mmata@uic.edu for more information.

Research

Research initiatives include both translational and clinical trials of acute stroke treatments and stroke prevention, epidemiologic studies of cerebrovascular disorders, observational studies of vascular cognitive impairment, and studies of cerebral blood flow using quantitative magnetic resonance angiography.

Active subject recruitment is ongoing for the following research studies and sponsors:

Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Hemorrhagic Stroke:  Principal Investigator:  Dr. Fernando Testai
The purpose of this study is to find risk factors for hemorrhagic stroke, specifically intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). ICH, a type of bleeding into brain tissue, is a type of stroke that can result in death or disability in a large number of people. Our study hopes to identify a specific genetic risk factor that will help identify at-risk individuals and target treatment strategies.

Sleep SMART  Principal Investigator:  Dr. Gabriela Trifan
The primary goals of this study are to determine whether treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with positive airway pressure starting shortly after acute ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA (1) reduces recurrent stroke, acute coronary syndrome, and all-cause mortality during 6 months after the event, and (2) improves stroke outcomes at 3 months in patients who experienced an ischemic stroke.

ARCADIA Principal Investigator:  Dr. Fernando Testai
ARCADIA is a randomized trial of apixaban versus aspirin specifically in patients with cryptogenic stroke who have evidence of atrial cardiopathy. This trial will address several important knowledge gaps. First, it will advance our understanding of stroke pathophysiology by assessing whether atrial cardiopathy is a valid therapeutic target, which may set the stage for a primary prevention trial. Second, this trial will advance our understanding of optimal secondary stroke prevention therapy.

AXIOMATIC SSP Study Principle Investigator: Dr. Fernando Testai
A global, phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study of BMS-987177, an oral factor XIa inhibitor, for the prevention of new ischemic stroke or new silent brain infraction in patients receiving aspirin and clopidogrel following an acute non-hemorrhagic stroke or transient ischemia attack (TIA).

Contact our stroke nurse Maureen Hillmann, RN at 312 355-3863 or hillmann@uic.edu for more information.

In addition to major participation in the education of UIC Neurology residents and medical students, two ACGME-accredited Vascular Neurology Fellowships are available. Interested candidates should contact Maria Mata, Program Coordinator at 312 996-6496 or mmata@uic.edu for more information.