For the past two years, the world's health systems have been in the spotlight as the world has met the challenges of COVID-19. During this time, rapid technological progress has played an important role in reducing the impact of pandemics.

The problem is that advances in medical technology are often considered expensive or cumbersome to implement, so decision-makers need to know which technology will actually benefit operations, have health consequences, and have long-term results.

A particularly widespread example is the use of innovations to diagnose and treat stroke. Stroke has long been recognized in the United States as one of the world's biggest killers and a major cause of severe long-term disability, costing billions of dollars each year. Given how innovation can play an important role in addressing this challenge?

Shorten the intervention time

When it comes to a stroke, a person loses millions of brain cells every minute after it occurs, and over time, if left untreated, the consequences can be devastating in the long run. The best results are obtained when the patient is first treated, or "golden", a few hours after the onset of symptoms. Urgent neuroimaging is necessary to identify ischemic (clogged) and hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke - this is the only way to make the right clinical decisions and effective treatment.

Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are today the driving forces behind imaging, which are used to detect changes in the brain and diagnose people with and especially stroke. type, before starting treatment. The ability to quickly diagnose and make timely test and treatment decisions, especially during the "golden hour", can improve patient outcomes in the long run.

Medical imaging technology, such as EMVision's portable imaging equipment, is designed to facilitate this process by providing bedside decision support and patient monitoring, and in the future, outpatient neuroimaging. Mobile stroke units - highly customized ambulances equipped with imaging equipment and staffed by stroke specialists - emphasize the positive benefits of shortening the time of diagnosis and intervention in the field and improving patient outcomes.

Investing in new portable imaging technologies, suitable for environments where traditional CT or MRI services are unavailable, practical or expensive, is especially important for dealing with time-consuming medical emergencies such as stroke.

Accept the distance challenge

Research suggests that nearly a quarter of Americans living in remote regions say that access to good doctors and hospitals is a major problem, compared to 18% in urban areas and only 9% in suburban areas. These numbers will only decrease in low- and middle-income countries with limited resources, where access to CT or MRI may not be possible.

Most agree that medical imaging should be more readily available to address health inequalities. Overcoming these differences and improving access requires a new, technology-driven approach that makes rendering cheaper, faster, more care-minded, and ultimately more affordable.

Special attention to stroke, time, and hospital distance interventions is certainly an obstacle to critical time diagnosis and treatment and may explain the difference between recovery and permanent disability. The main solution to solve this problem is portable neuroimaging. Adopting patient-driven portable neuroimaging innovations is crucial, especially for those living in rural or remote communities who may be suffering from a stroke.

Support radiology specialists

Not only is it reducing barriers to physical imaging technology, patients also need access to the expertise of radiologists who can read medical imaging and patient care.

There are more than 36,000 radiologists in the United States. However, in a country of 43 million, Kenya has only 200 radiologists. Liberia has only two. With the skills shortages that underpin healthcare systems around the world, speed innovation, AI decision support and telemedicine can play an important role in streamlining the sharing of critical information, supporting teams and improving employee health.

Portable imaging technology can be used in bed, in confined spaces such as intensive care units, to unlock efficiency in sorting settings and to assist radiologists and technicians in decision making. Patient transportation may require resources, threaten patients, and time the impact of a critical clinical decision, but the introduction of such technology eliminates these problems and makes out-of-hospital imaging accessible. Artificial intelligence-enabled tools, while requiring additional clinical validation for many applications, are increasingly showing the surprising promise of further help in bridging healthcare gaps.

Innovation in medical imaging is clearly accelerating rapidly. Finally, new portable and miniaturized imaging devices can play an important role in improving stroke care and diagnosis, and the adoption of these technologies will play an important role in reducing inequalities in our global healthcare system.