Acute Stroke
Stroke NavThe Acute Stroke subtheme is focussing on two main areas of research:
Dr James Kennedy is leading on acute stroke imaging with 2 projects investigating MRI and non invasive cerebral perfusion. Much of this research will take place in the new Acute Vascular Imaging Centre (AVIC)
Dr Ian Reckless, in collaboration with the Bioengineering and Technology Theme, is developing 'Stroke Nav', a remote monitoring system for stroke patients
‘Stroke Nav’ is a clinical system designed to facilitate the collection of a comprehensive set of data along the stroke patient pathway, from ‘call for help’ to discharge from secondary care and beyond. The data collected will have numerous functions, including:
1. Patient records: data entered into the ‘Stroke Nav’ system will be used to partially populate printed proformas which will be inserted into the patient’s written records.
2. Improved data quality: existing scoring and assessment systems (such as NIH-Stroke Scale) will be incorporated into ‘Stroke Nav’ to facilitate usage.
3. Decision support: algorithms will be written in to the Stroke Nav software such that clinicians are prompted to consider evidence-based interventions.
4. Patient safety: algorithms will be written in to the Stroke Nav software warning of contra-indications to specific interventions.
5. Communication: many data items are repeatedly collected from a single patient by different members of the multidisciplinary team – ‘Stroke Nav’ will reduce such duplication.
6. Health Services Audit: ‘Stroke Nav’ will house a wealth of information relating to the passage of patients along the clinical pathway. This information will be easily accessible and will permit continuous audit of service performance.
