TOLEDO, Ohio & DANVERS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fulfilling its promise of bringing care faster to Northwestern Ohio residents experiencing stroke, Samsung NeuroLogica and Mercy Life Flight Network announce the debut of the mobile stroke unit (MSU) serving greater Northwestern Ohio. The fourth of its kind in the United States, the vehicle comes equipped with a CereTom mobile CT scanner and is on-call 24/7 and is staffed with a critical care nurse, paramedic and CT technologist.
Within its first three weeks of operation, the unit received 29 calls and treated 10 patients, one of them with a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a drug commonly used to treat ischemic strokes.
The CereTom CT scanner is a critical element of the process, providing scan uploads to specialists at the hospital in less than two minutes. For many stroke patients, time is critical for administering treatment that can prevent or minimize brain injury, and MSU teams can act on diagnostic tests in the field. Of the 10 patients the unit was dispatched to treat in the inaugural weeks of operation, nine received CT scans on the scene.
“The key to stroke care is determining what kind of stroke is occurring, whether it’s hemorrhagic or ischemic,” said Julie Goins-Whitmore, MBA, RN, EMT-P, Mercy Health MSU program manager. “Performing the scan out in the field quickens the diagnostic process, which is critical to starting the right treatment as soon as possible. It’s also a huge relief for patients and their families to have a much better idea of what’s happening before the MSU even leaves their driveways.”
The MSU was co-developed by Stryker, Frazer and Samsung NeuroLogica, funded with a $1 million grant from the Mercy Foundation. It was brought online in partnership with the Lucas County Commissioners and the City of Toledo to address new emergent stroke-care protocols. Lucas County sees a higher proportion of patients 45 years and younger suffering from strokes compared to the national average.
The CereTom is an 8-slice, portable CT scanner that delivers high-quality scans in a variety of patient locations. Its combination of rapid scan time, easy-to-use interface and immediate image viewing make CereTom an indispensable tool for any clinician needing real-time, high-quality images. It is optimized for use in a variety of settings including the MSU, ICU, NICU, emergency department and in patient rooms. For stroke patients, the CereTom-based MSU has proven to reduce time-to-treatment for patients,1 as well as hospital length of stay.2
Stroke kills nearly 130,000 Americans each year, accounting for one of every 20 deaths, or one person every four minutes. Of the approximate 800,000 Americans that have a stroke annually, about 87% are ischemic.3
“Mobile stroke units empower emergency physicians to deliver quicker, more effective care especially for ischemic stroke patients,” said Philip Sullivan, Samsung NeuroLogica president and CEO. “The CereTom CT-equipped vehicles give responding specialists a powerful tool to help treat patients quicker, as time to treatment makes a big difference in a patient’s recovery from stroke.”
A CereTom-equipped MSU will be on display for the duration of AHA/International Stroke Conference taking place February 17-18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. To schedule a time to see the CereTom CT mobile stroke unit (MSU) in action, contact Lynne Gagne at lgagne@samsungneurologica.com. MSU experts will be on-site and available to answer questions about this cutting-edge stroke treatment strategy.
About Mercy
Mercy is a seven-hospital system and a preferred
provider of healthcare services for a 20-county area in Northwest Ohio
and Southeast Michigan. A faith-based healthcare system, Mercy’s mission
is to improve the health of our communities, with an emphasis on the
underserved. Mercy St. Vincent operates Life Flight Network, which
maintains five aircraft and numerous emergency response vehicles,
including intensive care vehicles in addition to the mobile stroke unit.
About NeuroLogica
NeuroLogica, the healthcare subsidiary of
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., develops, manufactures, and markets
innovative imaging technologies and is committed to delivering fast,
easy and accurate diagnostic solutions to healthcare providers.
NeuroLogica, the global corporate headquarters and manufacturer of
computed tomography, is also the U.S. headquarters for sales, marketing
and distribution of all Samsung digital radiography and ultrasound
systems. NeuroLogica’s growing portfolio of advanced medical
technologies are used worldwide in leading healthcare institutions
helping providers enhance patient care, improve patient satisfaction,
and increase workflow efficiency. Samsung is committed to being leaders
in the field of healthcare imaging. For more information, please visit www.SamsungNeuroLogica.com.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas
and technologies, redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable
devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical
equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. We are
also leading in the Internet of Things space through, among others, our
Smart Home and Digital Health initiatives. We employ 307,000 people
across 84 countries with annual sales of US $196 billion. To discover
more, please visit our official website at www.samsung.com/
and our official blog at global.samsungtomorrow.com.
1 Hussain MS et al. Abstract 54. Presented at: International Stroke Conference 2015; Feb. 11-13, 2015; Nashville, Tennessee
2 Crit Care Clin 31 (2015) 197–224
3 CDC, NCHS. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2013 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released 2015. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2013, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program.
