For Stewart, the desire to become a scientist began at home. From a young age, she was aware of her father's diagnosis with cancer and the struggles he faced as his body became resistant to some treatments. Four years ago, when she became a predoctoral student at Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, she chose a research project addressing blood cancers like his.

Working under the mentorship of Mayo Clinic hematologist oncologist Saad Kenderian, M.B., Ch.B., she has studied specially engineered immune cells, called chimeric antigen receptor-T cells or CAR-T cells, that are used to treat blood cancers like leukemia. She identified a signaling protein that, when neutralized, boosts the function of CAR-T cells by keeping them from reaching a state of "exhaustion." She and Dr. Kenderian's team published their findings in Nature Communications.

Stewart was delighted to learn that the journey of the new concept didn't stop there. "The approach she explored is novel, and her findings show there's a solid rationale to see whether it may help patients," says Dr. Kenderian.

'An incredible learning curve'

As the opportunity to advance the idea has emerged, Stewart has begun to learn about developing a clinical trial. "It's been an incredible learning curve," she says of taking a discovery beyond the lab space.

Close collaboration between researchers and clinicians at Mayo is what makes the steps of translation — from discovery to the clinic — happen efficiently, says Dr. Kenderian. Students like Stewart have opportunities to learn about the steps that shape clinical trials to bring new treatments to patients.

She and Dr. Kenderian met with a panel of Mayo physicians to get feedback about the design of a phase 1 clinical trial, which tests the safety of a new approach in a small cohort of patients who are interested in participating. "It was a great opportunity for me to hear how things are translated into the clinic, what questions and concerns clinicians may have, and how feasible our approach may be," she says.

"CAR-T cell therapy can be remarkable for some patients who have no other options, and the hope is to develop a more durable, lasting approach. This part of the research is still in early stages, but it's a very exciting project, and I feel lucky to be a part of it."

'Beyond what seemed possible'

Many Ph.D. students at Mayo Clinic are preparing for future careers in academia and industry. Another way they can learn about research that involves human participants is through an internship at Mayo Clinic's Office of Clinical Trials. Working with Mayo's clinical trials coordinators, students have followed a clinical trial underway and learned about designing a study that provides meaningful data and protects the rights, safety and welfare of patients who volunteer to participate.

But for some students, like Olivia Sirpilla, who is graduating in May from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, a long series of successful experiments in Dr. Kenderian's lab has opened the door to the next stages. Sirpilla's Ph.D. research looked at developing specially engineered stem cells from fat tissue as a treatment to calm the inflammation that occurs in immune diseases.

The team's results, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, have set the stage for two potential clinical trials. One may be applicable to graft-versus-host-disease, an immune system complication that can occur after a stem cell transplant. The findings also may be applicable to the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, particularly for patients who no longer respond to medications.

To design these clinical trials, Sirpilla and Dr. Kenderian are working with teams of Mayo clinicians who specialize in these disorders and their standard treatments. "I chose to come to Mayo Clinic for my Ph.D. to conduct lab research that would be highly translational," she says. "But to spend my thesis work developing a new cell therapy platform that is ready to be translated into a clinical trial is beyond what I thought possible in a Ph.D."

Research that reaches patients' daily lives  

Stephanie Zawada began her Ph.D. with an interest in computational approaches to research, but she has always strived to make advances that reach patients' daily lives.

Her thesis project aimed to help physicians assess people who have experienced a stroke and may be at risk for another.  She engaged two Ph.D. mentors who shared their expertise: Bart Demaerschalk, M.D.,  and  Bradley Erickson, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Demaerschalk is a professor of neurology who treats patients with stroke at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and has a longstanding interest in digital health and using telemedicine to reach remote patients, and Dr. Erickson is a professor of radiology who leads artificial intelligence studies at his lab at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Zawada "took a very innovative approach, exploring digital tools that may help a healthcare team continue to monitor and evaluate patients who have been discharged from the hospital but remain at risk for stroke recurrence," says Dr. Demaerschalk.

First, Zawada scoured available databases to identify attributes, including mood changes and sleep patterns, that can signal an oncoming stroke and can be captured by smartphone-based technology known as "wearables." Then she worked with her mentors and members of the Center for Digital Health to develop a pilot clinical trial with patients who volunteered to participate in a study from their homes.

Zawada designed a study that met the requirements of an institutional review board, or IRB, to address regulatory compliance. Aiming to get information from a "real-world" setting — where patients interact with app-based tools and the tools account for the range of daily activities — added logistical and mathematical complexity to the project. She worked with Dr. Demaerschalk and Mayo Clinic hospital-based stroke teams to recruit a cohort of 35 patients who gave consent to be part of the clinical trial.  

"Interacting with patients and hearing their concerns is the best way to advance useful technologies," Zawada says of designing the trial. "You want the clinical trial process to be as simple as possible for participants, and the only way to learn what tools and designs can make their lives better is to listen to them."

Her results showed that several behavioral and mood changes related to cerebrovascular disease can be captured with the use of wearable devices, even from patients going about their daily routines far from a hospital. The approach will need further investigation as a strategy to improve care and in the development of clinical trial measures, but the training to conduct a clinical trial is something that Zawada will take to the next stages of her career.

"Setting up a clinical trial is a complex process and really involves a team," says Zawada, who graduates in May and plans to continue researching wearables for patients who have other severe health conditions. "My thesis project was a multi-site collaborative effort — putting together the clinical questions, the new technology and the data analysis, the connection with patients — it's why I came to train at Mayo in the first place. As a student, I couldn't have done this project anywhere else."

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Healthcare professionals are invited to register and join the free two-hour, virtual event featuring presentations from industry leaders about the digital evolution of clinical care.  

The Mayo Clinic Center for Digital Health will host Mayo Clinic's inaugural Digital Health Research Symposium on Wednesday, March 20, from noon to 2 p.m. CDT.

The free virtual event will feature a multidisciplinary group of clinician-scientists who will share innovative digital health research.

Register to attend today.

"Digital health helps patients connect to care in new ways," says Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., medical director of Digital Health Research and Outcomes, Center for Digital Health. "Through scientific research, we continue to expand innovative pathways to care. The symposium will increase visibility of current research focused on innovation to advance digital health for patients and healthcare staff."

"Mayo Clinic is a leader in digital health innovation, and we're excited to bring together researchers and experts from across the enterprise and the digital health community," says Chris Wittich, M.D., Pharm.D., medical director of Practice and Enablement, Center for Digital Health. "Through this important work, new learnings will be discovered to improve and transform healthcare."  

Event details

The symposium will feature panels and presentations highlighting scalability, patient engagement and team dynamics in digital health:

Panel Discussion: "The Current State of Digital Solutions"

An opening discussion will feature the following panelists:

• Scalability: Elizabeth Krupinski, Ph.D., Emory University.
• Patient engagement: Renee Pekmezaris, Ph.D., Northwell Health.
• Team dynamics: Amirala Pasha, D.O., J.D., Executive and Development Health, Mayo Clinic.

Scientific Abstract Presentations: "Novel Works in Development"

Each scientific abstract presentation will be 10 minutes, including time for questions:

Scalability

• "Validating a Portable, Camera-Based System to Scale the Clinical Gait Assessment as a Telehealth Solution," Kevin Mazurek, Ph.D., Neurology Artificial Intelligence, Mayo Clinic.
• "Transforming Large Language Models into Superior Clinical Decision Support Tools by Embedding Clinical Practice Guidelines," Xiaoxi Yao, Ph.D., M.P.H., Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Scientific Director for Pragmatic Trials and Evaluation, Mayo Clinic.

Patient Engagement

• "Identifying Patient Preferences for Information about Healthcare AI: A Discrete Choice Experiment," Xuan Zhu, Ph.D., Health Care Policy and Research, Mayo Clinic.
• "Impact of an Automated Digital Navigation Program on Colonoscopy No-Show Rates: A Study in an Underserved Population," Morish Shah, UC Davis Health, University of California, Davis.

Team Dynamics

• "Utilization of Emergency Medicine Telehealth Support for Pediatric Patients in Community Emergency Departments," Elizabeth Fogelson, M.D., Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic.
• "Developing a Neighborhood for Care: Empowering Clinical Team Dynamics in New Physical Space," Allison Matthews, experience design lead, Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester, Mayo Clinic; Adam Copeland, Ph.D., digital strategy director, Center for Digital Health, Mayo Clinic.

Panel Discussion: "Key Highlights and Clinical Practice Implications"

A closing discussion will feature the following panelists:

• Scalability: Judd Hollander, M.D., Thomas Jefferson University
• Patient engagement: Kristin Rising, M.D., Thomas Jefferson University
• Team dynamics: Brian Dougan, M.D., Executive and Development Health, Mayo Clinic

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During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians across Mayo Clinic transitioned to virtual modes of care to continue to treat patients safely — resulting in an increase of over 10,000% in video telemedicine visits between patients and clinical care team members across the organization. These monumental shifts in care delivery also made for an opportunity to conduct some of the largest video telemedicine studies to date.

"The increased utilization of video telemedicine allowed us to evaluate a variety of patient populations and care needs that had historically been challenging to capture due to slow growing adoption," says Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., who helped to lead the studies from Mayo Clinic’s Center for Digital Health. "Nearly overnight, departments and specialties that had historically relied on in-person care had to transition to telemedicine, vastly expanding the possibilities for research." 

Their findings have resulted in two studies so far, one published in JAMA Open Network and the other in the Patient Experience Journal. The results signal positive trends in patient satisfaction with telemedicine and also highlight the diagnostic accuracy of these virtual encounters as it relates to in-person care.

Telemedicine diagnoses match those of in-person appointments most of the time

In one study published in JAMA Open Network, researchers found that 87% of the preliminary diagnoses made during telemedicine appointments were later confirmed during in-person appointments.

To put it simply: diagnoses over video are usually spot on.

Researchers evaluated more than 97,000 video visits across Mayo Clinic between March and June 2020. Of those visits, 2,400 patients had a visit for a new health concern and followed up with an in-person appointment within 90 days.

The highest rate of matching telemedicine and in-person diagnoses was found in specialties that included psychiatry and psychology, allergy and immunology, orthopedics, and urology. While diagnostic concordance was slightly lower in specialties such as dermatology and ear, nose and throat (ENT), still, close to 80% of those diagnoses were confirmed in person.

Dr. Demaerschalk says these findings highlight the importance of a hybrid care model and should be reassuring to patients and providers.

"When it comes to care delivery, there is no one-size-fits-all solution," says Dr. Demaerschalk. "Some conditions, like mental health diagnoses, depend heavily on conversations to inform diagnoses, which bodes well for a video visit. Other conditions may be tough to pinpoint without a physician exam, imaging or tests. In these instances, video visits may better serve as an entry point to in-person care."

Patient satisfaction scores align across video telemedicine and in-person visits

In another study published in the Patient Experience Journal earlier this month, researchers within Mayo Clinic’s Center for Digital Health and the Office of Patient Experience evaluated patient satisfaction scores from over 300,000 patients treated either in person or via video telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their findings marked a positive shift for telemedicine. Patient satisfaction ratings were overall equivalent across in-person visits and video telemedicine. The team also observed several interesting trends with certain age groups, genders and races, which countered historical perceptions of telemedicine and represent opportunities for future study.

"We found the highest level of patient satisfaction with telemedicine visits was among patients within the 65-year-old to 79-year-old age range," says Nicky Ploog, digital practice enablement manager for Mayo Clinic’s Center for Digital Health and first author on the study. "Historically, there has been the belief that this age group is resistance to telemedicine, but these findings highlight how important it is we target telemedicine to all patients, not just the younger, perhaps more tech-savvy users."

However, some of the researchers’ findings did align with historical findings for telemedicine satisfaction. For example, patients reported significantly higher satisfaction with in-person visits for specialty appointments. These findings are consistent with prior observations, which have found that patients with complex and serious clinical needs report greater satisfaction when they are able to spend more time engaging with staff and care teams, such as during an extended in-person visit.

Conversely, researchers saw significantly higher satisfaction with video telemedicine for presurgical and postsurgical interventions, driven largely by differences in satisfaction among orthopedic and general surgery.

"The differences we observed may be due to a number of things: patient expectations, how far away they are located from Mayo Clinic, and more," says Laurie Wilshusen, Mayo Clinic’s director of Patient Experience Research and an author on the study.

"What is most important to note is that satisfaction was consistently high across both video telemedicine and in-person care, showing that as telemedicine visits become more common, we can bring the Mayo Model of Care to all patients, regardless of if that’s in-person or virtually," says Wilshusen. The researchers hope their findings provide objective insights into patients’ views on different care models, allowing for health care systems to more broadly consider how video telemedicine services may be employed for the benefit of both patients and staff.

Both research studies were funded by Mayo Clinic. A full list of authors and affiliations can be found in the research articles in  JAMA Open Network and the Patient Experience Journal.

The post Studies into video telemedicine diagnostic accuracy and patient satisfaction find positive trends appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — "Time is brain."

That's the mantra for responding to stroke, a medical emergency that occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, depriving tissue of oxygen and nutrients. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die.

Every second counts, and the faster a patient gets treatment, the better the odds for a positive outcome.

That message hasn't changed through all the advances in research and treatment over the past several years. And Mayo Clinic experts are reinforcing the message that a FAST response is crucial, in recognition of National Stroke Awareness Month in May.

"FAST" is the acronym for keywords identifying signs and symptoms of stroke, with "Time" being the final and most important factor:

• Face: Is the person's face drooping on one side?
• Arms: Can the person raise both arms without one or both falling?
• Speech: Slurring or difficulties in speaking are a sign of trouble.
• Time: Every second counts. With one or more of these symptoms, call 911 or your emergency phone line immediately.

Latest in diagnosis, treatment

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and the leading cause of disability in the U.S., according to the American Stroke Association. But with the latest treatment options and telemedicine capabilities at some hospitals, many patients are having positive outcomes that would have been unlikely not long ago.

"For so many years, stroke wasn't as treatable as we wish it could have been," says Robert D. Brown Jr., M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist. "When I was back in my training in the late 1980s, we didn't have good options in the early hours following stroke onset."

That changed dramatically in the 1990s with the advent of clot-busting drugs, which changed the mindset regarding the importance of urgent treatment for ischemic strokes, the most common type of strokes, Dr. Brown says. Ischemic strokes occur when blood vessels to the brain are narrowed or blocked. More recently, the use of mechanical thrombectomy to remove clots from blood vessels in certain cases has been another breakthrough.

There also have been advances in treating hemorrhagic strokes, which are caused by the rupture of weakened blood vessels. Newer surgical treatments, including infusing clot-dissolving drugs into an area of the brain where bleeding has occurred, are being assessed to improve outcomes, says Dr. Brown, the John T. and Lillian Mathews Professor of Neuroscience.

Some advanced techniques and imaging tools are available only at major medical centers. In other communities, "telestroke" programs are making a difference in stroke outcomes. Stroke experts use video cameras and other technology to evaluate patients remotely, diagnose stroke types and recommend treatments.

At Mayo Clinic's Florida campus, portable telestroke equipment recently was deployed in ambulances. This equipment enabled physicians to begin their assessments prior to the patient's arrival at the hospital. "This program has effectively reduced the time between stroke onset and emergency stroke treatment," says Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist. The program also is being developed at other Mayo campuses.

Mayo Clinic researchers also are leading an international clinical study, called the  Carotid Revascularization and Medical Management for Asymptomatic Carotid Stenosis Study (CREST-2), which aims to determine the optimal treatment for stroke prevention in patients who have been diagnosed with carotid artery disease. This disease occurs when fatty deposits, or plaques, clog the blood vessels that deliver blood to the brain and head. Kevin Barrett, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist, says it's the largest stroke prevention study underway, with over 1,300 patients enrolled at 128 centers to date.

"Historically, surgical treatments such as carotid endarterectomy or carotid artery stenting have been used to more or less clear out the plaque that's associated with narrowing in the carotid artery," Dr. Barrett says. But intensive medical management approaches have emerged as an alternative way to prevent strokes, including lifestyle changes and the use of drug therapies.

Prevention is key

Though much has changed over the years in how health care providers respond to stroke, preventive measures for reducing its risk remain as constant and important as ever:

• Control your blood pressure.

"High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a very strong risk factor for stroke," Dr. Brown says.

• If you're a smoker, quit.

"Smoking markedly increases the risk for stroke," not to mention other negative health impacts, he says.

• Eat a healthy diet and lower your cholesterol level with medications if needed.

Lower your low-density lipoprotein, or LDL or "bad," cholesterol, eat a healthy diet and maintain an appropriate weight.

• Make exercise a part of your daily life.

"It doesn't have to be an extravagant amount of exercise. Even a small amount on an ongoing basis is a stroke preventive and will benefit your heart as well," Dr. Brown says.

To schedule an interview with a stroke expert, contact Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, newsbureau@mayo.edu.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, comprehensive care to everyone who needs healing. Learn more about Mayo Clinic. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network.

Media contacts:

• Susan Barber Lindquist, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005,
  newsbureau@mayo.edu
• Jim McVeigh, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 480-301-4222, mcveigh.jim@mayo.edu
• Kevin Punsky, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 904-953-0746, punsky.kevin@mayo.edu

The post Expert Alert: FAST response essential for stroke appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Reliable assessment of comatose patients in intensive care units is critical to the patients’ care. Providers must recognize clinical status changes quickly to undertake proper interventions. But does the provider need to be in the same room as the patient, or can robotic telemedicine be used successfully to complete the assessment? According to a research study conducted at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona, published in Telemedicine and e-Health, the answer is yes.

“To assess a patient in an intensive care unit who has an altered level of consciousness or coma, doctors must track the patient’s progress through bedside clinical examinations,” says Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and senior author of the study. “This assessment is commonly completed through the use of either the Glasgow Coma Scale or the Full Outline of UnResponsiveness Score scale. These scales are scoring systems that allow providers to measure a patient’s level of consciousness.”

The study occurred over a 15-month time frame and included 100 patients. Sixteen medical doctors performed the assessments using the two scoring systems, with two providers randomly assigned to each patient ─ one provider conducting the assessment at the patient’s bedside and the other provider conducting the assessment using a real-time audio and visual robotic telemedicine system. Each provider independently scored the patients using both the Glasgow Coma Scale and the Full Outline of UnResponsiveness Score scale.

This study is the first to look specifically at telemedicine in assessing patients in coma, and the results suggest that patients with depressed levels of consciousness can be assessed reliably through telemedicine.

MEDIA CONTACT: Carol Berteotti, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284 5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

“This is good news in many ways,” states Amelia Adcock, M.D., Mayo Clinic neurologist and first author of the study. “We use telemedicine frequently when evaluating acute stroke patients. This study suggests yet another way telemedicine can enhance patient care. There is a shortage of intensive care unit providers and facilities with round-the-clock patient coverage. Telemedicine can provide a way to ameliorate this shortage and improve early evaluation of critically ill patients.”

Mayo Clinic is continuously engaged in looking at ways to expand telemedicine throughout clinical practice through its Center for Connected Care. This study supports that effort and offers new insight into telemedicine practice.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/.

The post Assessment of comatose patients through telemedicine efforts shown to be reliable appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Emergency telemedicine provides acute medical assessments to people who need immediate emergency care through video communications.  A Mayo Clinic medical specialist located at a distance from the patient connects via technology with local care teams to assess, diagnose and treat patients.  This type of care relies on the expertise of medical, surgical and allied health staff, as well as reliable, fast and secure technology.

This convergence enables Mayo Clinic to work with one vendor to create scalable, standardized services across Mayo Clinic’s nationwide telemedicine enterprise. Prior to this convergence, Mayo Clinic worked with numerous vendors as it grew its emergency telemedicine practice. This new strategy consolidates effort, while continuing Mayo’s strong clinical focus through the enhanced technical proficiency and ease of use for Mayo Clinic care teams.

“By combining the breadth and depth of Mayo Clinic knowledge and expertise with a standardized technology across the enterprise, we will be able to create a comprehensive, integrated, multispecialty emergency telemedicine program. Through this program, we can provide specialty consults and guidance for medical and surgical emergencies in adults and children,” says Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and the medical director of synchronous (telemedicine) services for the Mayo Clinic Center for Connected Care.

Also, according to Dr. Demaerschalk, this strategy provides a seamless patient experience and more opportunity for Mayo Clinic to grow its clinical service lines.  The initial telemedicine service lines to participate in this convergence are Telestroke and Teleneonatology. Mayo Clinic already provides care to more than 5,000 people per year through these service lines. The convergence enables Mayo Clinic to assist more patients across more sites.

MEDIA CONTACT: Carol Berteotti, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

“This is an exciting milestone for connected care at Mayo Clinic,” says Christopher Colby, M.D., chair of the Pediatrics Neonatal Medicine Division and telehealth director for pediatrics at Mayo Clinic. “We will now offer a technology platform specifically designed to deliver emergent telemedicine consultation.  Perhaps equally as important is that this will bring expertise from the Mayo Clinic enterprise together to develop world-class telemedicine across many service lines.”

The converged emergency telemedicine practice is one example of how Mayo Clinic’s Center for Connected Care is implementing its telemedicine strategy. The Center for Connected Care is committed to developing comprehensive telemedicine technologies and remote digital health solutions that meet the needs of one patient or many patients.

“Mayo Clinic provides an unparalleled experience as the most trusted partner for health care by connecting Mayo knowledge and expertise to anyone, anywhere, anytime to make the best health decisions,” states Dr. Demaerschalk. “Connected Care involves bringing together customers, technology, products and service line offerings.”

The first phase of this convergence will begin in late summer and continue through the first part of 2017.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/.

The post Mayo Clinic Expands Emergency Telemedicine Practice appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Miss the program?  Here's the podcast: MayoClinicRadio-FullShow-12-20-14

There are a lot of wonderful medical discoveries to share from 2014 that are leading the way into the future of health care. Join us!

Follow #MayoClinicRadio and tweet your questions.

To listen to the program on Saturday, click here.

Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeart Radio.

Mayo Clinic Radio is a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic. The show is taped for rebroadcast by some affiliates.

For a look at future program topics, click here.

To find and listen to archived shows, click here.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Medical News of 2014 appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

A recent agreement between Wickenburg Community Hospital and Mayo Clinic in Arizona means the service featuring a remotely controlled, self-propelled robot is now available in Wickenburg.

Mayo Clinic was the first medical center in Arizona to do pioneering clinical research to study telemedicine as a means of serving patients with a stroke in neurologically underserved rural and urban settings, and today serves as the "hub" in a network of 15 other "spoke" centers in 4 states. Wickenburg Community Hospital is the 16th hospital to be part of the telestroke service from Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

When Mayo Clinic began its stroke telemedicine program in 2005, statistics illustrated that 40 percent of residents in Arizona lived outside an area with immediate stroke expertise. In telestroke care, the use of a telestroke robot located in a rural hospital lets a stroke patient be seen in real time by a neurology specialist at Mayo Clinic located in Phoenix. The Mayo stroke neurologist, whose face appears on the screen of the robot, consults with emergency room physicians at the rural sites and evaluates the patient.

Patients showing signs of stroke can be examined by the neurologist via computer, smart phone technology, portable tablets or laptops. In addition to assessment of the patient, the neurologist can view scans of the patient's brain to detect possible damage from a hemorrhage or blocked artery.

A major benefit of the collaboration is that patients with stroke symptoms who meet the criteria can often be administered clot-busting medications within the narrow window of time necessary to minimize permanent injury to the brain.

"Excellent, capable emergency physicians at Wickenburg Community Hospital can ring the telestroke hotline and be instantly connected with Mayo Clinic's stroke experts," said Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., Professor of Neurology, and medical director of Mayo Clinic Telestroke. "Urgent and immediate virtual care can be provided to patients - collaboration between stroke neurologists and physicians at the remote sites has resulted in 96 percent accuracy in diagnosing stroke."

“Our mission is to provide quality health and wellness services where the patient, family and community come first.  This newly formed partnership with the Mayo Clinic is another step towards achieving that mission,” Linda Brockwell, Chief Nursing officer at Wickenburg Community Hospital says. “In collaboration with the stroke neurologists and our emergency department providers, immediate, life-saving interventions can begin shortly after the patient enters the ED.  This new service provides the patient better care and will ultimately save lives.”

To date, more than 5,000 consultations for neurological emergencies between Mayo Clinic stroke neurologists and physicians at the spoke centers have taken place. Dr. Demaerschalk says these comprehensive evaluation techniques lead to appropriate life-saving treatment for stroke and have resulted in significant cost reductions in terms of ground and air ambulance transfer of patients to another medical center.

Dr. Demaerschalk explains that telestroke robot technology is not intended to replace face-to-face communication with patients.

"But our research strongly suggests that the technology can enhance evaluation and treatment for patients in underserved areas, as well as peer-to-peer collaboration among physicians," he says.

It is estimated that more than 45 percent of Americans live more than 60 minutes away from a primary stroke center. If a stroke has occurred, "every minute is precious," notes Dr. Demaerschalk.

Additionally, researchers have found that telestroke care appears to be cost-effective for rural hospitals that don't have an around-the-clock neurologist, or stroke expert, on staff. The research is published in the September 14, 2011, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The Mayo Clinic Telestroke Network also includes Arizona hospitals in Phoenix, Casa Grande, Kingman, Flagstaff, Parker, Cottonwood, Sedona, Tuba City, Globe, Yuma, Bisbee and hospitals in St. Joseph, Mo., Lebanon and Manchester, N.H., and Las Vegas and Henderson Nev.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.com and www.mayoclinic.org/news.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jim McVeigh, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 480-301-4222, mcveigh.jim@mayo.edu

Roxie Glover, Wickenburg Community Hospital, 928-684-3219, Roxie.glover@wickhosp.com

The post Wickenburg Community Hospital adds Mayo Clinic “Telestroke” appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.