By EMS1 Staff
AURORA, Colo. — A hospital is now using a mobile stroke unit to increase stroke survival rate.
KDVR reported that UC Health’s Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit is described as a “souped-up” ambulance equipped with a mini-CT scanner and a teleconferencing technology that allows neurologists to begin treating the patient as quickly as possible.
“Everybody is recognizing how important it is to treat patients quickly and so most places are getting faster and faster. Things like the Mobile Stroke Unit are helping us do that,” Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit Medical Director Dr. William Jones said.
Dr. Jones added that the unit is one of only about 20 around the world.
“With stroke, time is brain,” he said. “So, the quicker that we can treat a patient wit tPA, also commonly referred to as a ‘clot-busting’ medication, the more likely they are to have benefits.”