New Neuro Intervention: RAPID Automated Patient Selection for Re-perfusion Therapy

When a person presents with an ischemic stroke in the ED, often tPA can’t be given due to many factors. One reason is that, the patient may present with an ischemic stroke but the last time the patient is well is unknown, therefore excluding them from receiving the tPA therapy. However, recent research using automated image analysis software such as RAPID has changed this approach. Research has shown that the use of RAPID extends the tPA treatment window as it shows a more accurate picture of the brain’s perfusion status. RAPID allows the physicians to assess whether the patient is a candidate for tPA therapy not based on when the patient was last seen well, but actually based on the patient’s cerebral perfusion status. In other words, the treatment depends on the amount of tissue infarct and deficit, not when the the patient was last seen well.

References:

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/42/6/1608.full