TY - JOUR
T1 - Development and Pilot Testing of 24/7 In-Ambulance Telemedicine for Acute Stroke
T2 - Prehospital Stroke Study at the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel-Project
AU - Espinoza, Alexis Valenzuela
AU - Van Hooff, Robbert-Jan
AU - De Smedt, Ann
AU - Moens, Maarten
AU - Yperzeele, Laetitia
AU - Nieboer, Koenraad
AU - Hubloue, Ives
AU - de Keyser, Jacques
AU - Convents, Andre
AU - Tellez, Helio Fernandez
AU - Dupont, Alain
AU - Putman, Koen
AU - Brouns, Raf
AU - PreSSUB-Consortium
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Background: In-ambulance telemedicine is a recently developed and a promising approach to improve emergency care. We implemented the first ever 24/7 in-ambulance telemedicine service for acute stroke. We report on our experiences with the development and pilot testing of the Prehospital Stroke Study at the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (PreSSUB) to facilitate a wider spread of the knowledge regarding this technique. Methods: Successful execution of the project involved the development and validation of a novel stroke scale, design and creation of specific hardware and software solutions, execution of field tests for mobile internet connectivity, design of new care processes and information flows, recurrent training of all professional caregivers involved in acute stroke management, extensive testing on healthy volunteers, organisation of a 24/7 teleconsultation service by trained stroke experts and 24/7 technical support, and resolution of several legal issues. Results: In all, it took 41 months of research and development to confirm the safety, technical feasibility, reliability, and user acceptance of the PreSSUB approach. Stroke-specific key information can be collected safely and reliably before and during ambulance transportation and can adequately be communicated with the inhospital team awaiting the patient. Conclusion: This paper portrays the key steps required and the lessons learned for successful implementation of a 24/7 expert telemedicine service supporting patients with acute stroke during ambulance transportation to the hospital. (C) 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel
AB - Background: In-ambulance telemedicine is a recently developed and a promising approach to improve emergency care. We implemented the first ever 24/7 in-ambulance telemedicine service for acute stroke. We report on our experiences with the development and pilot testing of the Prehospital Stroke Study at the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (PreSSUB) to facilitate a wider spread of the knowledge regarding this technique. Methods: Successful execution of the project involved the development and validation of a novel stroke scale, design and creation of specific hardware and software solutions, execution of field tests for mobile internet connectivity, design of new care processes and information flows, recurrent training of all professional caregivers involved in acute stroke management, extensive testing on healthy volunteers, organisation of a 24/7 teleconsultation service by trained stroke experts and 24/7 technical support, and resolution of several legal issues. Results: In all, it took 41 months of research and development to confirm the safety, technical feasibility, reliability, and user acceptance of the PreSSUB approach. Stroke-specific key information can be collected safely and reliably before and during ambulance transportation and can adequately be communicated with the inhospital team awaiting the patient. Conclusion: This paper portrays the key steps required and the lessons learned for successful implementation of a 24/7 expert telemedicine service supporting patients with acute stroke during ambulance transportation to the hospital. (C) 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel
KW - Telemedicine
KW - Prehospital
KW - Emergency care
KW - Stroke
KW - Diagnostic techniques and procedures
KW - ACUTE ISCHEMIC-STROKE
KW - UNASSISTED ASSESSMENT
KW - TRIAL
KW - THROMBOLYSIS
KW - FEASIBILITY
KW - UNIT
KW - CARE
U2 - 10.1159/000444175
DO - 10.1159/000444175
M3 - Article
SN - 1015-9770
VL - 42
SP - 15
EP - 22
JO - Cerebrovascular Diseases
JF - Cerebrovascular Diseases
IS - 1-2
ER -