Australia will become the first country in the world to trial a revolutionary helmet-like device in ambulances that allows paramedics to diagnose stroke and other traumatic brain injuries even before a patient reaches the hospital.
The microwave-imaging device, called Strokefinder, will be used in ambulances for the first time in the Hunter region in New South Wales.
Swedish firm Medfield Diagnostics, which developed the device, has signed an agreement with the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) in Newcastle to conduct further research on the device and explore the diagnostic possibilities.
The Strokefinder imaging system differs fundamentally from x-ray and ultrasound, employing sophisticated microwave technology adapted from mobile phone and defence applications.
The patient's head is placed directly on the device and sequentially scanned by antennas emitting low-energy microwaves.
These pulses 'scatter' in brain matter, and bleeding patterns are then differentiated via an image-generating algorithm.
Preliminary studies of the device have been conducted by Sahlgrenska University Hospital's Stroke Unit in Gothenburg and involved over 200 stroke patients.
Researchers now plan to extend the trial into the ambulance domain for the first time.
"The long-term goal is to have the Strokefinder in all ambulances, like the defibrillator for stroke," HMRI director Professor Michael Nilsson said.
Professor Chris Levi, Senior Staff Neurologist at John Hunter Hospital and Director of Clinical Research and Translation for Hunter New England Health, said that time-saving measures are critical when an ischemic stroke occurs, particularly in remote areas where travel to hospital often takes longer.
"The faster we begin thrombolysis treatment to dissolve the clot, the more brain can be salvaged," Levi said.
"However, we must be absolutely sure that it's not a haemorrhagic stroke, which occurs around 20 per cent of the time, because the treatment paths are vastly different," Levi said.
