KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Remote tools aid in stroke treatment

Remote tools aid in stroke treatment

by Lori Tipton
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Providence Alaska Medical Center is rolling out a new telemedicine weapon to help stroke patients.

Time is critical for stroke treatment and technology is helping eliminate geographical barriers here in Alaska, getting patients the help they need fast.

The neuroscience team at Providence recently demonstrated the new technology, called the REACH System -- remote evaluation of acute ischemic stroke.

Brian Barnard, the clinical supervisor of the emergency department, pretended to be a stroke patient to show what it would be like for a typical assessment.

Across the room, Dr. Robert Lada, a neurologist at Providence, monitored Barnard on his laptop computer, which was connected to the Internet.

"The treatment of stroke care has really evolved quite a bit over the last 10 to 15 years," Lada said.

The REACH system is made up of a portable cart with a laptop computer and a Web cam.

"The cart is wheeled in to the patient and then the neurologist, wherever he is located anywhere in the world, can see the patient, examine the patient through the Web cam and then make a recommendation for treatment," said Christie Artuso, director of neurosciences.

Hospitals in outlying areas around Alaska are being equipped with the cart.

"We have tremendous issues with access to care in Alaska because of geography, distances, weather -- a variety of situations -- and to use a piece of technology that connects to the Web, the World Wide Web, and connects a neurologist with that patient can eliminate their disability for the future and change their life," Artuso said.

A person having a stroke has a three-hour window to receive the care they need to have the best results of surviving.

"The longer that brain is without the oxygen supplied by the blood vessels, the more potential brain damage is done and the more neurons or brain cells die," Artuso said.

Artuso also says this technology will give stroke patients the best chance of survival -- and reversal -- of brain damage.

"You cannot describe the feeling for that patient and their life," she said.

The telemedicine technology was developed in Augusta, Ga., and more than 80 hospitals across the country are using it, including hospitals in Kodiak, Seward and Juneau.

The systems will soon be installed in Soldotna and Valdez.

Contact Lori Tipton at ltipton@ktuu.com