Innovative Interventional and Imaging Registries: Precision Medicine in Cerebrovascular Disorders

Abstract

Background: Precision medicine in cerebrovascular disorders may be greatly advanced by the use of innovative interventional and imaging-intensive registries. Registries have remained subsidiary to randomized controlled trials, yet vast opportunities exist to leverage big data in stroke. Summary: This overview builds upon the rationale for innovative, imaging-intensive interventional registries as a pivotal step in realizing precision medicine for several cerebrovascular disorders. Such enhanced registries may serve as a model for expansion of our translational research pipeline to fully leverage the role of phase IV investigations. The scope and role of registries in precision medicine are considered, followed by a review on the history of stroke and interventional registries, data considerations, critiques or barriers to such initiatives, and the potential modernization of registry methods into efficient, searchable, imaging-intensive resources that simultaneously offer clinical, research and educational added value. Key Messages: Recent advances in technology, informatics and endovascular stroke therapies converge to provide an exceptional opportunity for registries to catapult further progress. There is now a tremendous opportunity to deploy registries in acute stroke, intracranial atherosclerotic disease and carotid disease where other clinical trials leave questions unanswered. Unlike prior registries, imaging-intensive and modernized methods may leverage current technological capabilities around the world to efficiently address key objectives and provide added clinical, research and educational value.