Interventional Neuroradiology at Alexian Brothers Neurosciences Institute

What is Interventional Neuroradiology?

Interventional neuroradiology (INR) is a relatively new subspecialty that encompasses the evaluation and treatment of diseases of blood vessels of the head and neck using minimally invasive techniques.

The tools of the trade include catheters, coils, and balloon angioplasty and stenting, all used with x-ray guidance.

The most common diseases INR physicians treat are stroke, intracranial aneurysms, vascular malformations, and blockages of vessels in the head or neck.

Expertise, experience, & availability

The INR team of Drs. Tim Malisch and Franklin Marden is available around-the-clock, 24/7/365. 

Led by Dr. Malisch, director of the division, who has treated more than 300 aneurysms in his career, the team has the experience to treat the full gamut of neurovascular disease, from stroke to stents to tumor embolization. In 2006, the INR service at Alexian Brothers treated more people for ischemic stroke using clot-busting drugs like intra-arterial tPA and clot retrieval devices like the Merci device than any other hospital in the Chicago area.*

Patients may also benefit from cutting-edge clinical research taken from bench-to-bedside. Drs. Malisch and Marden participate in multi-center studies they believe may help acute stroke patients. Current studies include the Interventional Management of Stroke (IMS-III) and the Merci clot retrieval registries.

Award-winning medicine with a personal touch

Alexian Brothers Medical Center and St. Alexius Medical Center are Primary Stroke Center Certified by the Joint Commission. Only 316 hospitals are Primary Stroke Center Certified by the Joint Commission, out of over 5,000 hospitals nationwide**. Alexian Brothers Medical Center and St. Alexius Medical Center are also recipients of the Performance Award for the American Stroke Association’s “Get with the Guidelines” program.

What does this mean to you? Better outcomes. As patients in the Alexian Brothers Hospital Network, you will benefit from physicians and nurses striving to maintain the highest level of key, evidence-based performance measures for treating patients with stroke and other neurovascular diseases. We also understand a patient’s care does not end with the procedure. The INR team will continue to see patients they have treated and to collaborate with other physicians throughout and after the hospitalization as necessary.

*Information provided by Illinois COMPdata

**2007 Joint Commission data