Researchers develop low-cost device to detect ischemic stroke

New Delhi: Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi, in collaboration with PGIMER Chandigarh, have developed a portable and cost-effective device to detect and diagnose ischemic stroke caused by impaired blood flow to the brain.

A research paper describing the device and its operation was recently published in IEEE Sensors Journal. According to the research team, ischemic stroke caused by insufficient or interrupted blood supply to part of the brain affects one in every 500 Indians in a year.

Surveys have shown that around 10 per cent to 15 per cent of all strokes affect people below 40 years of age. The efficient management and treatment of stroke depend upon early identification and diagnosis. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computer tomography (CT) techniques are considered the gold standard for ischemic stroke detection. While these are indeed reliable methods, they require considerable infrastructure and high cost, and are inaccessible to many communities in India – there is only one MRI service for every one million people in the country. "We are working towards finding a low-cost diagnostic technique to precisely detect ischemic stroke at the point of care so that such tests can be used in rural and remote areas.

Our team has designed and developed a small wearable device that makes use of Near Infrared Spectroscopy to detect an ischemic stroke. In this device, a near-infrared light emitting diode emits light in the range of 650 nm to 950 nm," said Shubhajit Roy Chowdhury, associate professor, IIT-Mandi.