Andrew DeNardo, MD is a visiting specialist who supports stroke patient care.

Edward Duckworth, MD, MS, FAANS is an intracranial-focused neurosurgeon, specializing in the treatment of complex cranial disorders. He has expertise in treating many conditions, including cerebrovascular disease and the surgical treatment of stroke; brain tumors, including pituitary tumors; acoustic neuroma; skull base tumors; Chiari malformation; epilepsy; moyamoya; trigeminal neuralgia; arteriovenous malformations, cavernoma; normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH); and carotid artery disease. He is the director of St. Luke's Cranial Neurosurgery Program.

Dr. Duckworth holds the distinction of being "dual-fellowship trained," having completed fellowship training in cerebrovascular and cranial base surgery at Northwestern University and in endovascular neurosurgery and interventional neuroradiology at Semmes-Murphey Neurologic and Spine Institute and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He as also earned a subspecialty certification in neuroendovascular surgery from The Society of Neurological Surgeons Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST). This depth of expertise allows him to offer the safest and most effective treatments for cerebrovascular conditions, whether that is open surgery or an endovascular technique.

While working at the Baylor College of Medicine, he held the rank of associate professor and served as the director of cerebrovascular and cranial base neurosurgery.

Dr. Duckworth is a member of the American Association for Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He has published over 50 peer reviewed papers and given more than 40 oral presentations on neurosurgery.

Surgical Specialties

• Neurosurgery
• Cerebrovascular neurosurgery
• Endovascular neurosurgery
• Endovascular surgical neuroradiology
• Neurological skull base surgery

John Perl II, MD is an endovascular surgical neuroradiologist specializing in minimally invasive neurointerventional procedures for a wide variety of conditions, including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and dural AVMs, carotid artery stenosis, cerebral vascular stenosis, painful spinal fractures, and vascular disorders of the head, neck, brain and spine. 

Dr. Perl completed his diagnostic radiology residency at the University of Alabama. Following fellowship training in neuroradiology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and in interventional neuroradiology at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Perl was recruited to join the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Foundation. There, he honed his endovascular surgery skill with some of the world’s most renowned neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons. He next moved to Minnesota to work in a busy neurovascular and pain management practice at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Dr. Perl eventually followed his heart back to the Mountain West, where he grew up and wished to raise his children. He finds great joy in dedicating his expertise to treating patients in this region. 

In Boise, Dr. Perl partnered with Dr. Tony Bell to establish the St. Luke's stroke program, providing state-of-the-art care for stroke patients in Idaho.

Dr. Perl is a senior member in the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery and the American Society of Neuroradiology. He has been a part of extensive research programs and has been published in medical journals including the Journal of Neurotrauma, Radiology, the American Journal of Neuroradiology, the Journal of Endovascular Surgery, and others. He has been a featured presenter and guest lecturer at conferences throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. A true Westerner at heart, he feels most at home enjoying the Idaho outdoors with his family.

Rakesh Shah, MD is a visiting neuroradiologist who supports patient care in the hospital during a stroke emergency. He performs body/vascular interventional radiology (IR), neuro-IR, stroke, thrombectomy, and aneurysm coil embolization procedures. In addition to his dedication to neuroradiology, he also supports general diagnostic radiology and body and vascular interventional radiology. 

Dr. Shah helped develop a new stroke intervention program for the BSA Health System in Amarillo, Texas; helped develop neuro-educational materials for referring hospitals and physicians; and trained BSA emergency department physicians, hospitalists, partner radiologists, and radiology department technologists for updated stroke protocols. 

Dr. Shah sits on the BSA Stroke Accreditation Committee, the BSA Quality Assurance Committee, the High Plains Radiological Association Executive Committee, and the Advanced Imaging Center Executive Board.

Eric Smith, MD is a fellowship-trained neurointerventional radiologist with expertise in minimally invasive procedures of the brain, head, neck, and spine. He specializes in both arterial and venous approaches for the treatment of many cerebrovascular disorders including: pulsatile tinnitus, idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), spontaneous intracranial hypotension, cerebrospinal fluid-venous fistulas, dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVF), arteriovenous malformations (AVM), stroke, brain aneurysms, and other vascular disorders.

Dr. Smith is also interested in neurointerventional robotics, treatment of congenital vascular anomalies, and MRI guided focused ultrasound for the treatment of movement disorders such as essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Smith completed diagnostic radiology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, followed by diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco. He is excited to grow the neurointerventional program and offer cutting edge treatments and technologies to the patients of St. Luke’s.