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Mobile stroke treatment unit launches in New York
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NewYork-Presbyterian launched an innovative mobile stroke treatment unit in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center and the Fire Department of New York, according to a press release.
The mobile stroke treatment unit (MSTU) is an emergency vehicle deployed through 911 that is specially equipped to bring immediate care to patients who may be having a stroke. The team contains two paramedics, a CT technologist and a neurologist. The unit also contains all equipment and medications necessary to diagnosis and treat a stroke, according to the release.
“The most effective method in savings a stroke victim’s life is to diagnose and treat immediately after a stroke occurs,” Matthew Fink, MD, neurologist-in-chief and chief of the division of stroke and critical care neurology at NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said in the release. “The MSTU rapidly brings a neurologist and advanced technologies of an emergency room directly to the patient, offering stare-of-the-art care that is only moments away. This is just the beginning — there will be a number of innovative clinical treatments that we will be developing in the futures for this treatment of stroke in the field.”
The MTSU team will follow up with patients 90 days after treatment to gather data about outcomes and cost of care. This data will be forwarded to researchers for further analysis, according to the release.