Hyperacute Intracerebral Hemorrhage - Case 3

A 63 year old man was in an automobile accident, and found to be in a coma at the scene.


Outline the ICH and SAH on the CT     Note the Isointense Signal on T1     Note the Areas of Isointense and Hyperintense Signal on T2

Hyperacute Intracerebral Hemorrhage: (Left) Axial CT scan; (Middle) T1-weighted axial MRI; (Right) T2-weighted axial MRI. Note that on the CT scan the intracerebral hemorrhage in the frontal lobes is quite obvious. However, on the MRI scans, hyperacute blood is much more difficult to recognize. On the T1-weighted scan, note that there are several areas of abnormality that are relatively isointense to slightly hypointense. The same area on the T2-weighted scan is isointense to hyperintense, with a surrounding bright signal. This is the characteristic picture of a hyperacute (approximately 1 day old) hemorrhage on MRI. In the hyperacute stage, intracellular oxyhemoglobin is isointense / hypointense on T1-weighted and isointense / hyperintense on T2-weighted scans. In this case, the hemorrhage was due to trauma.

The findings of blood on MRI are complex and depend on timing. To learn more, review the powerpoint slide show, Blood on MRI: Time-dependent Changes.


Revised 11/30/06.
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston.