Software pairs smartphone, Twitter to enable remote stroke consults

Mobile phone-based software may allow physicians to manage and consult on stroke cases in real time from anywhere in the world, according to a study presented at the ninth annual meeting of the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) in San Diego.

The i-Stroke System telediagnostic imaging support system facilitates the transfer of information and diagnostic imaging to physicians in a remote location and allows them to consult on diagnosis and treatment via a Twitter direct messaging system.

Yuichi Murayama, MD, director for the center of endovascular surgery at Jikei University School of Medicine Tokyo and co-inventor of i-Stroke, implemented the system in his hospital in a pilot program in 2010. It now has been used in approximately 160 stroke cases. 

Equipped to facilitate the exchange of anonymous biographical information as well as clinical data and imaging via any smartphone, i-Stroke has "shown adequate performance and facilitated accurate and thorough information transfer, resulting in proper diagnosis and management of all 160 stroke patients,” according to SNIS.

The technology transfers clinical and imaging information necessary to diagnose stroke, such as CT scans, MR images and CT angiograms, plotted on a three-hour timeline to help the remote physician visualize the patient's stroke progression against the clock. In addition to this information, which is downloaded onto a stroke server installed in the hospital, the technology includes tools to help manage the diagnostic information, such as the patient's NIH Stroke Scale score. 

If the patient goes to treatment, the technology provides the physician with opportunities to visualize the procedure as it unfolds, with access to intra-operative images that allow for ongoing feedback and input to physicians in the operating room.

Licensed by Fujifilm, the system is in place in six hospitals in Japan. A near-term trial in the U.S. to evaluate the technology's impact on time to treatment and pave the way for a possible FDA approval is expected.

For more about telestroke programs, read "Telestroke Networks Make a Mark," in Health Imaging magazine.