People suffer from an acute stroke on a common basis, which is why the healthcare industry is working hard to improve their technology to lower the mortality rate that comes with the condition. Managing stroke involves time-critical solutions, so the American Stroke Association continues to look for opportunities to implement key changes in stroke systems and care pathways.
Imaging technology plays a pivotal role in increasing care quality to stroke patients since it accurately identifies the affected surrounding tissues. It also measures the modality of the patients and spotting affected brain tissues that are still salvageable, making it a key technology in alleviating the fatality rate during strokes.
Developing a Better Stroke Care Pathway Using Imaging Technology
When auditing the stroke care pathway, healthcare professionals rely on the standard action plan that involves the admission, imaging, thrombolysis, and thrombectomy of the patient. However, there are plenty of delays that slow down their treatment, and every minute counts when it comes to managing stroke.
Part of the biggest bottlenecks happens during the thrombolysis since it is often performed in the stroke unit. This means it will take some time to transfer the patient to the MRI room to move towards the next step of the stroke care pathway.
Changing the Stroke Care Pathway by Implementing Direct-to-Angio
Time is of the essence when it comes to treating patients suffering from stroke due to a large vessel occlusion. Going from the stroke unit down to the opposite ends of the clinic to reach the MRI room can be wasteful, so Recommendations for the Establishment of Stroke Systems of Care: A 2019 Update suggests a new approach: direct-to-angio.
Instead of waiting around, the new method bridges the gap by admitting the patient straight to the angio suite to conduct thrombectomy. Of course, it also means investing in the new flat panel CT imaging you can integrate into the angio suite, allowing physicians to cut back time and conduct diagnostic imaging within the hour.
The Bottom Line: Auditing the Stroke Care Pathway to Provide Better Diagnosis and Treatment to Patients
Putting patients in the right place and at the optimal time is crucial in treating a ticking time bomb like stroke, especially in patients with a large vessel occlusion. The Direct-to-Angio solution should improve the stroke care pathway by minimizing time wastage, and as we now know about treating stroke, every minute counts.
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When determining underlying illnesses or conditions, going to the right scan center is crucial as it will impact your diagnosis in more ways than one.
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