Dr. Kidwell thanked her for the comment, but added, "I think there still are those among us who do believe that advanced neuroimaging, as well as endovascular therapy, will have a role down the line. I think we just need further trials with the new stent retriever devices to really sort this out."
MR RESCUE was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Concentric Medical Inc. provided study catheters and devices for part of the trial, with costs thereafter covered by study funds or third-party payers. Seven of the coauthors are employees of the University of California, which holds a patent on Merci Retriever devices. Dr. Chimowitz disclosed research support from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Sacco reported no disclosures.