Riyadh- October 2024- King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) has launched the first-of-its-kind Mobile Stroke Ambulance Unit in the Middle East and North Africa, bringing advanced medical technology and clinical expertise directly to stroke patients. This innovation allows the medical team to use travel time to provide immediate medical care, significantly improving recovery and survival chances while reducing long-term disabilities, with a 70% higher likelihood of restoring normal body functions.
The initiative aims to improve stroke outcomes and accelerate the delivery of life-saving care during the critical first hour after symptom onset. It addresses specific challenges faced by patients in Riyadh, such as traffic congestion and prolonged transport times to hospitals, which result in delayed access to critical care, factors that have a crucial impact on treatment outcomes and patient quality of life.
The Saudi Red Crescent Authority dispatches the Mobile Stroke Unit after receiving a report from the patient’s family about stroke symptoms, such as arm weakness, facial drooping, or difficulty speaking. Following this, KFSHRC’s emergency unit notifies the Mobile Stroke Unit, which then deploys to the patient’s location to enable on-site diagnosis and immediate treatment.
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The Stroke Unit, specially equipped within an ambulance, includes a specialized medical team consisting of a vascular neurologist, a critical care nurse, a paramedic, and a CT scan technician, who facilitates brain tissue and cerebral blood vessel imaging inside the ambulance before reaching the hospital, to determine the cause of stroke symptoms and provide the necessary medical intervention on site.
The Mobile Stroke Unit is part of KFSHRC’s pavilion at the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh, allowing visitors to explore its advanced features, including technologies such as CT scans, computed imaging, MRI, carotid artery ultrasound, and cerebral angiography, which enhances KFSHRC’s leadership in providing novel stroke treatment solutions.
