Photo courtesy Viz.ai
Leon Towner remembers nothing about his stroke.
The 71-year-old Henrico resident had collapsed after a bathroom trip early in the morning of Oct. 22. His wife, Terry, rushed to help. He could hear her, but was unable to answer. He was able to squeeze her hand, though, so she knew he was at least semiconscious.
She called the rescue squad, and her husband was rushed to Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with the help of some new technology.
Minutes matter when it comes to treating a stroke. The most common stroke, ischemic, can claim almost 2 million neurons a minute a stroke is untreated, says David Loy, co-medical director of the Bon Secours Comprehensive Stroke Center and a neurointerventional surgeon.
Each year, about 795,000 Americans have a stroke; about 140,000 die (strokes are the fifth most common cause of death in the nation). Strokes are the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States, and they account for some $34 billion each year in treatment costs and lost work days. In Virginia, strokes killed 3,555 people in 2017, a rate of 37.5 per 100,000 people.
A new diagnostic tool is shaving minutes off the time treatment begins. Technology from the health care startup Viz.ai that is in use at metro Richmond Bon Secours hospitals and emergency care facilities can make a quick analysis of scans, propose a treatment and notify all treatment team members.
The American Stroke Association notes that about 87% of strokes are considered ischemic, involving blockage of blood vessels to the brain. The Viz technology detects a a large vessel occlusion, a stroke in a large artery in the brain that is a more severe form of ischemic stroke and can be more damaging. About a quarter of strokes stem from large vessel occlusion. They affect a large area of the brain and are “by far the most dangerous,” says Loy.
The technology can read a CT scan faster than a person, and can notify treatment team members in six to seven minutes; the patient may still be on the table in the scanning facility, says Loy. This leads to faster treatment. For example, a patient seen at a standalone ER facility can be routed more quickly to a full hospital.
“It’s just making things faster and more accurate,” Loy says.
The technology can be useful in diagnosing anyone showing symptoms of stroke. It adds nothing to the cost of the scan, says Loy, “it’s just a different way to process it.”
Towner was discharged from the hospital the Friday following his stroke. Two weeks later, he is progressing well, according to his wife. “Modern technology is really amazing,” she says.