Researchers have successfully developed a microwave helmet called Strokefinder, which uses microwaves to quickly detect the cause of a stroke even while the patient is still in the ambulance.
The Strokefinder helmet has the ability to examine a patient's brain tissue by using microwaves emitted once the user wears the device on his or her head. A system then scans the head to find out whether the patient suffered from a bleeding stroke or ischemic (clots) stroke.
According to the American Stroke Association, 87 percent of strokes were caused by clots, while 13 percent were caused by bleeding. Ischemic strokes occur when fatty deposits build an obstruction in the blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain. Bleeding strokes, on the other hand, occur when a weakened vessel breaks and bleeds into the brain.
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital tested the helmet on 45 participants last year and compared the results with CT scans. The test revealed that the helmet could accurately detect the cause of stroke, even with minor symptoms.
"The results of this study show that we will be able to increase the number of stroke patients who receive optimal treatment when the instrument makes a diagnosis already in the ambulance," said Mikael Persson, professor of biomedical engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, in a news release. "The possibility to rule out bleeding already in the ambulance is a major achievement that will be of great benefit in acute stroke care. Equally exciting is the potential application in trauma care."
Elam believed that the Strokefinder helmet could lead to less extensive injury because of faster diagnosis. Patients would not need to spend a long time in the hospital and could start their recovery sooner than usual. The researchers believed that their invention could benefit both the patients and the health care system for efficiency and costs reduction.
The results of the study were published in the June 16 issue of IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.
