News | Stroke | May 07, 2018

Northwestern Medicine Mobile Stroke Unit Delivers Life-Saving Care 30 Minutes Sooner

Data from first year of service highlights benefits of bringing the hospital to the patient

Northwestern Medicine Mobile Stroke Unit Delivers Life-Saving Care 30 Minutes Sooner

May 7, 2018 — A new data analysis of the Northwestern Medicine Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU) found the specialized ambulance provided life-saving treatment 30 minutes faster than traditional transport in its first year of operation. The analysis found, on average, the MSU delivered the clot-busting drug tPA to ischemic stroke patients 52 minutes after 9-1-1 dispatch, compared to an average of 82 minutes for patients transported via ambulance.

The latest tool in Northwestern Medicine's clinical offerings, the MSU is a specialized ambulance equipped with a 16-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner to take detailed images of the brain, a direct telemedicine connection to neurologists at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital (CDH) and stroke-specific medications, including tPA.

Currently, tPA is the gold standard for the treatment of ischemic strokes caused by a clot. However, it cannot be given until a CT scan or other imaging can determine if the stroke is ischemic or hemorrhagic. The Mobile Stroke Unit allows clinicians to make that determination from the patient's driveway.

"Every minute the brain goes without oxygen, there is a 3.1 week acceleration of the natural aging process," said Harish Shownkeen, M.D., medical director of the Stroke and Neurointerventional Surgery Programs at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital. "By treating stroke patients faster, we are greatly improving the odds patients will suffer minimal to no long term deficits."

The goal is to diagnose and treat stroke within the "Golden Hour", the first 60 minutes following onset of symptoms when patients have much better outcomes. A 2014 study in JAMA found that less than 1 percent of patients treated with tPA in the U.S. receive the life-saving medication within the "Golden Hour". During the first year of service, 27  percent of eligible Mobile Stroke Unit patients received tPA within one hour of onset of symptoms.

For patients, like Cynthia Reid from Glen Ellyn, Ill., rapid treatment in the MSU means walking out of the hospital instead of going to a post-acute care rehabilitation facility. One year after suffering what could have been a debilitating or deadly stroke, Reid's speech and memory have been fully restored. She is undergoing outpatient physical therapy to address residual numbness of her left hand. Reid says she is doing remarkably well, especially considering what could have happened.

"The Mobile Stroke Team at Central DuPage Hospital absolutely saved my life," said Reid. "They were able to give me the medication I needed right away, while also keeping me calm by reassuring me. If you think you might be having a stroke, I urge you to call 9-1-1 right away."

The first of its kind in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation, Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital's Mobile Stroke Unit can be directly dispatched by 9-1-1 to patients within the hospital's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) area. Due to the excellent results, Northwestern Medicine is working on innovative ways to expand the service to reach more patients in the far western suburbs of Chicago.

For areas outside the region, Northwestern Medicine is developing a secondary service area in which fire protection districts and ambulance services can request the MSU for patients who meet stroke criteria. Depending on the estimated arrival time, the Mobile Stroke Unit may go to the patient or arrange to meet an ambulance half-way.

"We are essentially bringing the hospital to the patient," said Mehr Mohajer-Esfahani, MSN, RN, program manager, Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Mobile Stroke Unit. "Diagnosis and treatment begin in the Mobile Stroke Unit before the patient is transported to the closest comprehensive stroke center."

Watch the VIDEO: Creating and Operating a Mobile Stroke Unit

See a 360 degree view of the inside of the Mobile Stroke Unit ambulance at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital

For more information: www.nm.org

 


Related Content

News | Stroke

July 9, 2025 — InspireMD, Inc., developer of the CGuard Prime carotid stent system for the prevention of stroke ...

Home July 09, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

May 28, 2025 — Siemens Healthineers has introduced the first mobile stroke unit (MSU) featuring the Somatom On.site head ...

Home May 28, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

May 21, 2025 — RapidAI recently announced new study findings that show RapidAI’s clinically deep algorithms deliver ...

Home May 21, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

April 17, 2025 — Adults younger than 50 years of age had more than double the risk of having a stroke from migraine or ...

Home April 17, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

On April 9, 2025, the world’s first multisector advocacy movement dedicated to stroke — the Global Stroke Action ...

Home April 15, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

March 3, 2025 — Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ...

Home March 04, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

Feb. 6, 2025 — New findings from the DiVERT Stroke clinical study showed women spent less time in the hospital, saw ...

Home February 07, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

Feb. 5, 2025 — Removing a clot blocking a medium- or small-sized artery in the brain mechanically is a safe treatment ...

Home February 07, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

Jan. 29, 2025 — Researchers at Ochsner Health, led by Hernan Bazan, MD, DFSVS, FACS, have developed a predictive model ...

Home January 30, 2025
Home
News | Stroke

Nov. 16, 2024 Anthos Therapeutics, Inc.recently presented new data at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific ...

Home November 18, 2024
Home
Subscribe Now