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1.Stanford University:

When treating an ischemic stroke – where a clot is blocking the flow of oxygen to the brain – every minute counts. The more quickly doctors can remove the clot and restore blood flow, the more brain cells will survive, and the more likely patients are to have a good outcome. But current technologies only successfully remove clots on the first try about 50% of the time, and in about 15% of cases, they fail completely.

Researchers at Stanford Engineering have developed a new technique called the milli-spinner thrombectomy that could significantly improve success rates in treating strokes, as well as heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, and other clot-related diseases. In a paper published June 4 in Nature, the researchers used both flow models and animal studies to show that the milli-spinner significantly outperforms available treatments and offers a new approach for fast, easy, and complete clot removal.

“For most cases, we’re more than doubling the efficacy of current technology, and for the toughest clots – which we’re only removing about 11% of the time with current devices – we’re getting the artery open on the first try 90% of the time,” said co-author Jeremy Heit, chief of Neuroimaging and Neurointervention at Stanford and an associate professor of radiology. “It’s unbelievable. This is a sea-change technology that will drastically improve our ability to help people.” (Source: nature.com, profiles.stanford.edu, news.stanford.edu)