New device offers faster stroke diagnosis

A device that can quickly identify strokes is being developed by Forest Devices, a start-up company housed within the AlphaLab Gear business accelerator

Forest Devices is planning a clinical trial for a device that promises to identify strokes much faster than currently possible, reducing the time needed for patients to get definitive care, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The feasibility study will recruit 20 patients, some with and some without a diagnosed stroke to determine the device’s detection accuracy, according to the news site.

Stroke treatment guidelines recommend that definitive care of stroke patients begin within an hour of the onset of symptoms, making speed critical in getting effective treatment.

Clot-busting medications have been used for years to treat strokes, but breaking up clots with catheters threaded into the brain is a more recent innovation that has been helped by equipment advances, said Ashutosh Jadhav, a physician who is director of stroke services at UPMC Mercy and Shadyside hospitals.

Jadhav said to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The faster you get treatment, the more likely you are to have a good outcome. This has really changed how we think about stroke and stroke therapy.”

Current diagnosis now hinges on the results of a CAT scan, however, Forest Devices uses an EKG-like band which sits around the forehead to detect brain abnormalities.

Forest Devices founder, Matt Kesinger, said to the news site: “Our vision is to create a device that any emergency medical technician can use, simpler than an EKG. We want to save lives and we want to save tissue.”