Microwave helmet 'can spot a stroke'.
The prototype device is still undergoing modification and needs larger tests.
Scientists say they have devised a helmet that can quickly determine whether a patient has had a stroke.
It could speed diagnosis and treatment of stroke to boost chances of recovery, the scientists say.
The wearable cap bounces microwaves off the brain to determine whether there has been a bleed or clot deep inside.
The Swedish scientists who made the device plan to give it to
ambulance crews to test after successful results in early studies with
45 patients.
Race against time.
A weak blood vessel can rupture and cause a haemorrhagic stroke.
When a person has a stroke, doctors must work quickly to limit any brain damage.
If it takes more than four hours to get to hospital and start treatment, parts of their brain tissue may already be dying.
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Dr Shamim Quadir Stroke AssociationTime lost is brain lost”
But to give the best treatment,
doctors first need to find out if the stroke is caused by a leaky blood
vessel or one blocked by a clot.
A computerised tomography (CT) scan will show this, but it
can take some time to organise one for a patient, even if they have been
admitted as an emergency to a hospital that has one of these scanners.
Any delay in this "golden hour" of treatment opportunity could hamper recovery.
Vital window
To speed up the process, researchers in Sweden, from Chalmers
University of Technology, Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University
Hospital, have come up with a mobile device that could be used on the
way to hospital.
The helmet uses microwave signals - the same as the ones
emitted by microwave ovens and mobile phones but much weaker - to build a
picture of what is going on throughout the brain.
Tests with an early prototype - a refashioned bicycle helmet -
found it could accurately distinguish between bleeds (haemorrhagic
stroke) and clots (ischaemic stroke), although not 100% of the time.
They have since built and tested a custom-made helmet to
better fits skulls of different shapes and sizes, and they have tested
it out with the help of nurses and patients at a local hospital ward.
Ultimately, they want to fit it into the pillow the patient rests their head on.
The researchers say their device needs more testing, but could be a useful aid in the future.
Doctors would probably still need to use other diagnostic methods too, they told Transactions on Biomedical Engineering journal.
Investigator Prof Mikael Persson said: "The possibility to
rule out bleeding already in the ambulance is a major achievement that
will be of great benefit in acute stroke care."
Dr Shamim Quadir, of the UK's Stroke Association, said: "When
a stroke strikes, the brain is starved of oxygen, and brain cells in
the affected area die. Diagnosing and treating stroke as quickly as
possible is crucial.
"While this research is at an early stage, it suggests that
microwave-based systems may become a portable, affordable, technology
that could help rapidly identify the type of stroke a patient has had,
and get them treated faster.
"By diagnosing and treating stroke as early as possible, we
can minimise the devastating impact of stroke, secure better outcomes
for patients and, ultimately, save lives. Time lost is brain lost."
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