The Emory MBNA Stroke Center utilizes a comprehensive approach to the evaluation of cerebrovascular disorders. The Center specializes in diagnosing and treating stroke patients. Beginning with a complete physical examination, specialized diagnostic tools may include:

• MRI:  Magnetic Resonance Imaging produces highly precise pictures of organs and tissues, such as the brain, with the use of powerful magnets that a computer then translates into images.
   
• MRA:  Magnetic Resonance Angiography is an MRI study that provides images of blood vessels supplying blood to the brain.
   
• CT: Computed Tomography uses an X-ray tube that focuses a precise beam of  light on a section of the brain. A computer analyzes the readings from the X-ray at thousands of different points and converts the information into images that can then be analyzed.
   
• CTA: Computed Tomographic Angiography uses CT technology along with sophisticated computer technology to produce elegant images of the brain's blood vessels, in a noninvasive manner.
   
• SPECT:  Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography produces 3-D images of brain activity and blood flow with the use of a radioisotope compound that is injected into a vein and then moves through the blood stream to sites in the brain. A special 'gamma' camera is rotated around the patient's head. The camera detects the areas where the isotopes have gathered and a supercomputer then translates the images into a 'map' that shows brain function in detail. Although this procedure uses nuclear radiology, the radiation is relatively harmless and equivalent to that of a chest x-ray.
   
• Cerebral Angiography is a diagnostic test in which a contrast agent (x-ray dye) is injected into the blood vessels of the brain through a catheter inserted into an artery in the groin.
   
• Neurovascular Ultrasound is a test using sound waves to detect and diagnose atherosclerosis, or thickening of the artery wall, in the carotid artery as well as arteries in the brain tissue and inside the skull. These tests include Carotid Duplex Testing and Transcranial Doppler.

Tests also may be done to assess overall brain function, as measured by electrical activity. These tests can show how much neurological damage has occurred as a result of the stroke. Among the most common of these tests are:

• Electroencephalogram (EEG), in which electrodes attached to the scalp are connected by wires (leads) to an electroencephalograph machine that charts the electrical activity of the brain.
   
• Evoked-potential study, in which the brain's response to sight, hearing and touch are tested and measured.