Fast and Easy Assessment of Stroke

PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of this study is to develop an objective tool for the fast and easy assessment of strokeby developing a novel analytics platform that quickly identifies potential stroke from movement signatures captured with wearable sensorsThe tool uses unobtrusive wearable sensors and does not require medical training to operateand thus will be valuable for families and caregivers of older Americans with high stroke risk who are either living at home or in an assisted living facilityIschemic stroke affects nearlyAmericans each yearcosts approximately $billion annuallyand is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the USIV tissue plasminogen activatortPAhas been an FDA approved therapy for ischemic stroke sinceyet onlyof eligible patients receive this therapyArrival time in the emergency roomERafter initial stroke symptoms is directly associated with better outcomes after tPA and endovascular therapyspecificallyhours and up tohours in select patientsrespectivelyIt is well established that treatment with tPA decreases the lifetime cost of stroke to third party payers by $per patientAs a resulthealth plans will be the ultimate economic buyer for this new technologyHerewe are not developing a new therapy for strokewhere so many others have failedWe seekratherto fill a well accepted and clear gap for stroke patientsthe early recognition of stroke symptoms that prevents them from accessing PROVEN but time dependent treatments in strokewhose impact on outcomes is well establishedEarly identification of symptoms and timely treatment is the single most important determinant of outcomes in ischemic strokeHoweverdespite massive public health campaignsmost people do not identify stroke symptomsresulting in costly delays in callingand patients arriving in the hospital too late to benefit from ischemic stroke treatmentsThis is a growing problemgiven the aging US population of which a significant portion lives at home alonethe staffing crisis at assisted living and nursing facilitiesand the prevalence of stroke which is expected to increase bybyGiven these trendsadministrators and aging experts are increasingly recognizing the value of remote monitoring and aging in place initiativesThusthere a clear and urgentunmet need for a method to assist untrained stroke victimstheir families and caregivers in the early recognition of strokeBridging this gap with a fasteasy and objective solution would have significant public health impactbecause millions of patients could access therapies in a window that is already known to improve outcomes for brain injuryTo address this problemwe have leveraged our team s unique expertise in stroke neurology and developed a set of activation tasks coupled with a wearable solution to assess and quantify ischemic strokeOnce deployedour solution will improve stroke emergency response and increase the number of patients receiving IV tPA and other reperfusion therapies in the acute setting NARRATIVE Ischemic stroke affects nearlyAmericanscosts approximately $billion annuallyand is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the USThough treatment for stroke has been available for overyearsonly a very small number of eligible patients receive it because individuals who have suffered a stroke do not reach the emergency room in timeWe have developed a method for quickeasyreal time assessment for strokewhich will dramatically improve the number of patients receiving timely therapy after stroke and improve the outcome for stroke