Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have developed a groundbreaking device that could revolutionize stroke care. This innovative headband-like device uses speckle contrast optical spectroscopy to accurately predict an individual’s stroke risk, much like a cardiac stress test. If validated further, this cost-effective and non-invasive approach could become a standard part of routine medical exams worldwide, transforming how we address one of the leading causes of neurological disability.
Unlocking the Brain’s Secrets
Headband-style, and equipped with a set of lasers and cameras used for capturing images of the brain via a method called speckle contrast optical spectroscopy (SCOS). The method breaks with tradition and is based on scientists analyzing the blood flow (or volume) measurements within the vessels in the brain, which can be used to calculate blood pressure in an even more accurate manner.
A proof-of-concept study was performed using the device on 50 participants, who were put through a “brain stress test.” The test involved subjecting participants to a momentary drowned of oxygen, which effectively stressed the brain and exposed potential weaknesses. Participants with high compared to low stroke-risk had greater blood flow and volume changes from baseline during the stress test based on SCOS, indicating that it could effectively identify individuals who are free of disease or at a higher risk for stroke.
Revolutionizing Stroke Care
Right now doctors use indirect signs like lifestyle and family history to gauge a patient’s likelihood of a stroke. So while we were at it, we also took the opportunity to create a better manner of assessing an individual s risk, which is what this SCOS device does and in a very direct way. This device is also inexpensive and can be easily transported or produced for worldwide use at primary care offices, emergency departments, and under-resourced communities where expensive imaging tests like MRI and CT scans are sometimes unavailable.
And its developers think it could one day be no more unusual in an annual medical exam than the measurement of weight or blood pressure. Just as physicians use a “stress test” to determine who needs blood thinners and other treatments, the same stress-like brain test helps them make more educated decisions about what types of stroke prevention strategies patients need in clinic.
The Path Forward
The new technology demonstrated a proof-of-concept in the first study, but the team will continue to develop and move the tech closer to its use within humans. Next they hope to carry out a more widespread trial, recording participants for two or three years after measurement of their stress test scores soon, so as to observe how improvements in these figures are connected real world results.
The researchers will also look into how machine learning might be employed to improve the device’s data analysis and learning capabilities. As this novel technology grows to mature, it can change the way we practice vascular imaging for stroke prevention and care hopefully alleviating the increasing burden of one of most debilitating neurological diseases in individuals and health care systems.
