Portable scanner developer NeuroLogica and German telemedicine vendor MEYTEC have developed a comprehensive mobile stroke ambulance.
Stroke-Emergency-Mobile VIMED STEMO is equipped with NeuroLogica's CereTom CT scanner, imaging informatics and telemedicine software, and portable satellite communications.
The CereTom is a portable 8-slice CT scanner that delivers high-quality perfusion scans. Image courtesy of the Berlin Fire Department.The VIMED STEMO contains a fully functioning preclinical stroke care suite that includes a portable 8-slice CT scanner. This enables an on-board stroke specialist to evaluate, diagnose, and treat a potential stroke victim within the first hour of onset.
Using 3G, 4G, and satellite connectivity, fully-encrypted laboratory results, diagnostic imaging, and additional instructions can be transmitted to emergency departments and/or trauma centers prior to the patient's arrival.
The ambulance was the brainchild of Dr. Heinrich Audebert, head of neurology and head of the stroke-emergency-mobile consortium, and his colleagues at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. One of the largest university hospitals in Europe, this is a joint institution of the Freie Universität Berlin and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The ambulance is part of the emergency medical service system of Berlin and has already been used by the hospital to treat hundreds of cases.
