We all know that getting treatment for a stroke can be a race against time to limit damage to the brain. Scientists in Sweden say they have devised a helmet that can quickly determine whether a patient has had a stroke. The Swedish scientists who made the device plan to give it to ambulance crews to test after there were successful results in early studies with 45 patients.
The helmet could speed diagnosis and treatment of stroke to boost chances of recovery. The cap bounces microwaves off the brain to determine whether there has been a bleed or clot deep inside.
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 a CT scanner.
To speed up the process, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, in Sweden have come up with a mobile device that could be used on the way to hospital.
The helmet uses microwave signals, just like the ones emitted by microwave ovens and mobile phones but much weaker, to build a picture of what is going on throughout the brain.
The researchers say their device needs more testing, but could be a useful aid in the future to use alongside other diagnostic methods.
Source: BBC News
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