Timing is everything when it comes to stroke care, and thanks to advanced brain imaging software, the George Washington University (GW) Hospital can now make faster care decisions for patients experiencing a stroke.
The hospital’s new RAPID CT Perfusion software streamlines treatment decisions for doctors when patients present to the hospital with a stroke more than six hours after the event occurred.
In the past, patients who arrived in the later stages of a stroke would not have been candidates for aggressive stroke treatment management because it was difficult for doctors to determine the amount of brain damage, and whether more damage was imminent, said Kathleen Burger, DO, director of the GW Hospital Comprehensive Stroke Center and associate professor of neurology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Now, in only 90 seconds, the RAPID software can generate information on how much damage has occurred in the brain and what areas have not yet been affected but are still at risk as time goes on. Burger said that data gives doctors information to help them determine the efficacy of certain surgical procedures.
