A smartphone app could help detect stroke symptoms, study shows

Researchers have developed an app called FAST AI that uses machine learning algorithms to detect the most common stroke symptoms: facial asymmetry, arm weakness, and speech changes. Preliminary findings are expected to be presented at the American Heart Association’s International Stroke Conference next week.

“Our goal is very simple: we want to detect stroke at its onset,” said Radoslav I. Raychev, lead author of the study and an angio-neurologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

This app is not ready for general use and it is unknown when it will be available or to whom it will be sold.

Ultimately, according to Raychev, the goal is to move beyond the app to other devices and platforms.

“When someone is video chatting, or talking to a ‘virtual assistant like Alexa,’ or driving a self-driving car, we want to capture the patient’s symptoms as follows: I would like to be able to monitor A stroke happens,” he explained.

Use the app as an educational tool

Neurologists from four metropolitan stroke centers in Bulgaria tested the app on about 270 patients diagnosed with acute stroke.

Using video recording and device sensors, the app was able to identify facial asymmetry with over 97% accuracy and arm weakness with over 72% accuracy. medical journal.

The app has been tested on hundreds more patients since its initial research phase, Raychev said. He said no.

Experts say a smartphone app to help detect stroke symptoms is a great idea. But the app should be used to educate people about the symptoms and motivate them to call 911, they said, rather than as a diagnostic tool.

Some experts have expressed concern that false-negative results may discourage people from seeking emergency medical care, which can have devastating consequences, for example.

said Andrew Russman, Stroke Program Director and Medical Director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at the Cleveland Clinic.

“But this should in no way be considered a methodology for deciding whether to call 911 or whether someone has stroke symptoms. It’s just one piece of information, but we don’t have any real applications yet.”

Early detection of stroke is important

Stroke, which occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain or ruptures a blood vessel in the brain, is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of long-term disability. increase.

Time is critical in diagnosing the condition and initiating treatment protocols, said Matthew Potts, chief of surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Comprehensive Stroke Center. “Every minute a neuron dies when blood to the brain is cut off,” he said.

‘Thrombobusting’ drugs can break up blood clots in the first hours of an ischemic stroke, which accounts for 87% of strokes, and prevent or minimize brain damage.

However, these agents, such as alteplase IV r-tPA, should be administered within 4.5 hours of onset of ischemic stroke. Sometimes the clot is removed during thrombectomy, a procedure to manually remove the clot from the artery.

Hemorrhagic stroke may be managed with medication or may require surgical intervention.

The prognosis depends on the area of ​​the brain and the amount of tissue affected, but experts say timing is key, and in some cases prompt action can prevent damage.

Even a transient ischemic attack (TIA), where the blood clot is temporary and does not cause permanent damage, can be a warning sign that a patient is at risk for a future stroke. . Therefore, stroke patients and those around them should be aware of their symptoms.

Stroke affects more women than men, but many people are unaware of the risk

Common Signs of Stroke

The acronym FAST is used to tell people the most common warning signs of stroke.

• The “F” is the drooping of the face. One side of the face may droop, especially when a person smiles.
• “A” is arm weakness. When raising both arms, one arm may begin to drop.
• “S” stands for speech difficulty. Words can be ambiguous.
• “T” is time. If anyone is experiencing any of these symptoms, call an ambulance immediately.

There are other symptoms that the app has a hard time detecting, but they could be signs of a stroke, says Rathman. You may experience numbness or tingling on one side, or difficulty walking due to dizziness or loss of balance or coordination.

Greg Albers, director of the Stanford Stroke Center at Stanford Medical Center, said stroke symptoms can cause disability.

“For example, the type of vision lost in a stroke is usually half the visual field,” he said. “If you’re blind and you bump into something or wave your hand in front of you, you lose a fair amount of vision. That’s very worrying.”

“Symptoms come on very suddenly,” he added.

But in some cases, the symptoms are mild and patients don’t take it seriously, seek medical attention, and may be permanently disabled, experts say.

Albers acknowledged that it can be difficult to tell if someone has had a stroke. This is one reason why he needs to set the “threshold” low for calling 911 if his symptoms indicate a stroke.

Even in the emergency room, medical professionals should perform brain scans and other tests before making a definitive diagnosis and initiating treatment, he said. If the brain leaks or ruptures, a “disaster” can occur.

“They will bleed more,” he explained.

Experts say the goal of smartphone technology that can detect stroke symptoms is to get stroke patients to the ER more quickly.

“We want people to make mistakes on the side of coming to the hospital, not on the side of people staying at home,” said Matthew Fink, chief of neurology at Weill Cornell Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. I think.

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