Brain map could prevent strokes

A grant from the

Neurological Foundation will allow researchers at the

to fine-tune a computer model of cerebral bloodflow that could become a tool in predicting, treating and preventing strokes.

Professor Tim David of the University's Centre for Bioengineering said strokes – the death of brain cells through lack of blood – were the third greatest cause of death and the single greatest cause of disability in New Zealand.

“Developing clinical diagnostic tools for the prediction and prevention of strokes is of the utmost importance,” he said.

Medical imaging techniques like MRI scans form the basis of such tools. Professor David's team has developed a groundbreaking tool which takes into account what he calls “The Goldilocks Effect”.

“This is the brain's ability to regulate its own blood flow, supplying brain cells with not too much blood and not too little; but an amount that's just right for proper functioning. In the fairy tale it's porridge, for us it's blood.”