A year after a mobile stroke unit hit the streets of Memphis, officials say it is saving lives by cutting the time it takes to treat stroke patients.
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center began using the 14-ton ambulance last year as part of a three-year controlled study. The unit has a CT scanner that can X-ray images of the brain, and is equipped to provide early fluids to stroke patients and dye blood vessels to determine the type of stroke the patient has had.
“The emergency room on average takes 40 to 50 minutes to do the things we do in 13 to 14 minutes,” said Dr.Andrei Alexandrov, UTHSC neurology professor, chairman of the neurology department and medical director of the stroke unit team.