Funding to transform stroke care with real-time diagnosis

The government is accelerating the rollout of a novel stroke diagnosis initiative, investing $15 million over the next 12 months to expand prehospital stroke care through the Australian Stroke Alliance. This funding follows the success of a pilot study that proved so effective it is being implemented ahead of schedule.

“This funding will provide rural Australians with a level of care that, until now, has been unavailable. We are determined to transform prehospital stroke retrieval so there is greater access to urgent care for people who would typically be caught up in an inefficient process due to communication obstacles, interhospital transfers and lack of neurological expertise in rural and remote locations,” stated Professor Stephen Davis AO, Co-chair of the Australian Stroke Alliance.

Federal Minister for Health Mark Butler announced the initiative, which will extend completed clinical trials using stroke-smart paramedics in standard road ambulances.

“Getting the right care quickly can make all the difference between a good recovery and ongoing disability,” Minister Butler said.

The funding will enable the expansion of these successful pilot programs across Central Victoria, the Hunter region of New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. These trials will lay the groundwork for a nationwide rollout into rural and remote areas by 2026.

At the heart of this initiative is the Zeus telehealth platform, developed by the Stroke Alliance in collaboration with Melbourne-based Titan Prehospital Innovation. The system enables paramedics on the ground to share real-time patient data with on-call tele-neurologists based in hospitals nationwide. Through the Zeus app, paramedics can conduct video consultations with specialists who determine the most appropriate hospital for the patient’s condition. Emergency department teams can then monitor the patient’s evolving clinical data and prepare for their arrival, expediting critical interventions such as clot removal or other life-saving treatments.

The investment will also help integrate Australian-designed portable brain scanners, currently being developed by Micro-X and EMVision. These medical devices will soon be available in both road and air ambulances, significantly enhancing stroke diagnosis in prehospital settings.

“It is so encouraging that every state and territory has provided in-principle support for their ambulance services to adopt these innovative new models of care. We are leading the world in advanced MedTech to support our paramedics and neurologists.

“Our program is expected to yield substantial benefits, including $154.2 billion in cumulative savings by 2035, improved patient outcomes, and a significant reduction in the burden of disease,” stated Professor Geoffrey Donnan AO, Co-chair of the Australian Stroke Alliance.

This initiative builds on funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) in 2021, which supported the Australian Stroke Alliance’s Stroke Golden Hour program.

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