Antonios Valavanis MD
Professor and Chair

The Institute of Neuroradiology is part of the Clinical Neuroscience Center, which also includes the departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery. The Institute is active in routine and emergency clinical service, in all aspects of teaching, and in translational and clinically oriented research. For clinical service, the Institute is equipped with the latest imaging technology and offers the entire spectrum of clinical neuroimaging and interventional (therapeutic) neuroradiology. The medical, technical and administrative personnel forms a professional team dedicated to individualized, high-quality patient care and provision of expert diagnosis. The newest research results with evident clinical impact are being continuously implemented into the clinical practice.

The section of diagnostic neuroradiology provides all methods of routine and advanced neuroimaging techniques for the professional evaluation of patients with diseases of the central nervous system, the head and neck, and the spine. These include spiral computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5 3 and 7 Tesla, Doppler and colour duplex neurosonography, biplane neuroangiography and digital X-ray equipment. The section of interventional neuroradiology is a major referral center for endovascular treatment of patients with neurovascular disease as well as vascular diseases of the head, skull base, neck and spine. Each year the Institute performs a total of 28.000 clinical neuroimaging examinations, endovascular neurointerventions and patient consultations. It also acts as the official consultant to the “Swiss Accident Insurance Association” for neuroradiology expertise in neurotrauma and its sequela. Research focuses on neurosciences and includes several projects funded by the Swiss National Foundation on neural plasticity and repair, neuroimaging in cognitive neuroscience, advanced neuroimaging techniques including functional MR and tractography as well as experimental research on endovascular neurosurgery in a dedicated neuroangiography lab facility.

Areas of specialization in diagnostic neuroradiology:

• Neuro-CT incl. CT-angiography and perfusion
• Neuro-MR incl. MR-perfusion/diffusion, -angiography, spectroscopy, -tractography and functional MR
• Neurosonography incl. Doppler and colour Duplex
• Neuroangiography incl. selective and superselective cerebral, spinal and brachiocephalic studies
• Myelography incl. CT-myelography
• Dacryocystography and conventional digital neuroradiological X-ray examinations

Areas of specialization in interventional neuroradiology:

• Carotid stenting and angioplasty
• Angioplasty of intracranial stenoses
• Emergency intraarterial stroke treatment
• Emergency treatment of epistaxis and other hemorrhages in the head and neck
• Emergency treatment of traumatic vascular lesions of the brain, head and neck
• Preoperative and palliative embolization of vascular tumors of the brain, skull base, head and neck
• Embolization treatment of hemangiomas and vascular malformations of the face, head and neck
• Endovascular treatment of acutely ruptured and of non-ruptured cerebral aneurysms
• Endovascular treatment of arteriovenous malformations of the brain and spinal cord
• Entire spectrum of interventional neuroradiology in neonates and children