SBIR Phase I: Hemorrhagic Stroke Detection with Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy ;

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to investigate an affordable prehospital hemorrhagic stroke (HS) detection device. The current state-of-the-art technology for prehospital HS detection is a computed tomography ambulance (i.e. mobile stroke unit). Mobile stroke units have high upfront and operating costs, and a lower-cost device could revolutionize healthcare for stroke patients in two ways. First, prehospital identification allows these patients to be triaged to hospitals equipped to treat them (neurosurgical centers), resulting in faster care and better outcomes. Second, the ability to rule out HS prehospital will allow earlier treatment of another condition, ischemic stroke, to improve outcomes and reduce long-term healthcare costs. The proposed SBIR Phase I project will use electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to differentiate HS and ischemic stroke. EIS involves injecting an alternating current signal and measuring the resulting impedance across a spectrum of frequencies. The impedance spectrum of materials often differ, allowing EIS to be useful in a variety of applications including examination of corrosion, antibody binding, body composition, and disease diagnosis. This work will advance the use of EIS, to date used experimentally in detecting intracranial pathologies, to detect hemorrhagic tissue within the brain. This work will explore the development of a fast-acquisition EIS HS detection device. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.