Technology of Stroke Detection

Globally, stroke is the 3rd-leading cause of death. Unfortunately, many strokes that occur in the hospital can go undetected for multiple hours, delaying life-saving treatment, increasing length of stay, morbidity, and mortality, and adding significantly to hospital expenses and litigation costs.

Strokes that take place outside of the hospital setting are noticed fairly rapidly. The initial signs of a stroke generally include weakness on one side of the body, sagging of the face, and some confusion of thought or speech. These signs are quickly detected by people with whom they are interacting, and the person is often immediately transported to the hospital for treatment. But when someone is already in the hospital, bedridden, often sedated or intubated, and left alone for several hours at a time, symptoms of a stroke are simply not detected in time. Up to 17% of all strokes happen to patients already in the hospital for other medical reasons, and statistically, these stroke victims have much worse outcomes than those whose strokes occur outside the hospital setting.

Neuralert is committed to ending the devastation caused by a stroke that goes undetected for too long. Our Neuralert Stroke Detection Monitor detects strokes ten times faster than the current standard of care. Non-invasive, reusable wristband technology constantly monitors asymmetry in arm movement, a classic indication of stroke. The bands transmit telemetry to our patented algorithm, developed at the University of Pennsylvania and for which Neuralert has an exclusive license.

Previous attempts to use arm-movement asymmetry to detect strokes have failed because of too many false positives. Our algorithm is the “secret sauce” that makes our technology work where others have failed. The algorithm not only accurately detects asymmetry indicative of a stroke, it also mathematically models out other causes of asymmetry such as hand dominance, talking on the phone, eating, or an IV line. When stroke symptoms are detected, the system immediately sends an alert to hospital staff to more rapidly assess the patient and deliver effective treatment.

Neuralert is your hospital’s technological key to improving outcomes for in-hospital strokes. In fact, it has been shown to detect 65% of strokes within 30 minutes, up to 94% within 80 minutes...far faster than the median response time using manual stroke monitoring methods. When your staff receives an alert from the Neuralert technology, they will know, because of our very low false-positive rate, that the patient needs immediate attention.

Quick treatment decreases the severity of the effects of stroke, saves lives, and significantly reduces hospital costs. Partner with Neuralert to optimize your hospital’s stroke response protocols.