Mobile stroke units for acute stroke care in the south of sweden

Abstract

A Mobile stroke unit (MSU) is a type of ambulance deployed to promote the rapid delivery of stroke care. We present a computational study using a time to treatment estimation model to analyze the potential benefits of using MSUs in Sweden's Southern Health Care Region (SHR). In particular, we developed two scenarios (MSU1 and MSU2) each including three MSUs, which we compared with a baseline scenario containing only regular ambulances. For each MSU scenario, we assessed how much the expected time to treatment is estimated to decrease for the whole region and each subregion of SHR, and how the population is expected to benefit from the deployment of MSUs. For example, the average time to treatment in SHR was decreased with 20,4 and 15,6 minutes, respectively, in the two MSU scenarios. Moreover, our computational results show that the locations of the MSUs significantly influence what benefits can be expected. While MSU1 is expected to improve the situation for a higher share of the population, MSU2 is expected to have a higher impact on the patients who currently have the longest time to treatment.

Early identification and characterisation of stroke to support prehospital decision-making using artificial intelligence: a scoping review protocol

“…Regarding the eligibility criteria outlined in table 1, the scope of this review includes peer-reviewed articles and peer-reviewed conference papers that examine the use of AI-based CDSSs and/or report new data sources for stroke characterisation in prehospital and/or ED settings. Studies that focus on mobile CT scanning will be excluded because they are still expensive solutions and focus on a different concept 49 50. Since potential clinical effectiveness is not determined by accuracy of algorithms alone, but also relates to the usability of the algorithms in clinical context, both qualitative and quantitative studies are included.…”

“…Studies that focus on mobile CT scanning will be excluded because they are still expensive solutions and focus on a different concept. 49 50 Since potential clinical effectiveness is not determined by accuracy of algorithms alone, but also relates to the usability of the algorithms in clinical context, both qualitative and quantitative studies are included. The search is limited to articles published between 1 January 1995 and 30 April 2023.…”