Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has taken part in testing and researching a headset designed to help emergency technicians better identify large vessel occlusion ischemic strokes prior to patients arriving at the hospital.
LVO strokes occur when a major artery to the brain is blocked. Until now, other methods of detection — such as the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale and the Los Angeles Motor Scale — have been only about 60% accurate, according to a Nov. 30 Sutter Health news release.
But data from clinical trials involving six hospitals found that the headset, called Harmony, was capable of detecting and correctly identifying 78% of LVO strokes, according to the research, which was published in the Journal of Stroke Vascular and Interventional Neurology.
However, authors of the study noted that more extensive research needs to be conducted to fully understand the benefits of the new technology's role in stroke care.