Smart brain-wave cap can identify a stroke before the patient reaches hospital

With the research published in Neurology on October 17, 2023, Amsterdam UMC has unveiled the results of their ‘brain-wave’ cap. The cap allows an EEG to be carried out in the ambulance if the patient is suspected of having a stroke.

Between 2018 and 2022, the smart brain-wave cap was tested in 12 Dutch ambulances, with data collected from almost 400 adult patients suspected of suffering a stroke, as judged by the ambulance paramedic, with an onset of symptoms less than 24 hours before the EEG recording.

Researchers found an accurate diagnosis of the type and severity of a stroke for 68 per cent of patients.

The pre-hospital test was able to detect whether the patient was having an ischemic stroke – the most common type, which occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel of the brain – and also whether the blocked cerebral blood vessel was large or small.

This distinction determines the treatment: if the vessel is large, the patient must be taken to a specialised hospital where the clot can be surgically removed; if the blocked vessel is smaller, the patient can receive blood thinning medication at a more suitable facility.