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by dhr
1772 days ago
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Very interesting! Is there some data on the 'optimal' time from when a stroke starts where intervention would prevent serious impairment? i.e. if you detect a stroke, how many minutes/hours do you have before irreversible damage is caused? Relatedly, what measures are done when a stroke is detected to minimize damage/impairment? Also, what's your false positive rate? Wish you all the best of luck! I've had family members who've had strokes and early detection might have helped them a ton. |
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1) There is a ton of interesting research on the topic of what happens from the onset of the stroke until permanent lesion formation.
In brief, there is usually a stroke "core" where the damage starts within seconds to minutes.
However there is a big volume surrounding the core, usually referred to as "penumbra" that is of substantial size and remains "live" longer due to access to collateral blood flow. This practically means that the small arteries which run in parallel to the main one that was blocked (causing the stroke) can sustain the surrounding tissue for a longer period of time than the core. However this blood flow is not enough to sustain those tissues in perpetuity and as a result the penumbra will also "die" if no treatment is provided promptly to re-establish flow in the "main" artery.
So there is a real race to save the penumbra!! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penumbra_(medicine))
Summarizing the above -> Time=Brain.
The most important point to keep in mind is that for treatment to be provided there must be something "left" to save upon arrival at the hospital. This is usually not the case when people get strokes during sleep or when they are alone (it's hard to detect so there is a ton of delays pre-911)
2) The management of a stroke depends on the stroke type, location, severity, symptoms. For ischemic strokes (85% of all strokes) the strategy is to bring the patient as quickly to the hospital, complete imaging diagnosis and re-establish blood flow in the affected vessel (via thrombolysis or thrombectomy)
These options are really well explained here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stroke/treatment/
3) We are optimizing our tools for zero false positives. Final product requirements will be set in communication with the FDA.
4) If you think that you family members might be interested in our technology, ping them to check out our website.