Scientists have developed a device that can monitor blood flow and help quickly diagnose and treat strokes.
A stroke, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, occurs due to poor blood flow to the brain -- a condition known as cerebral ischemia.
Its diagnosis must be done within the first few hours for treatment to be effective, researchers said.
The hybrid device, developed by researchers at the China Academy of Engineering Physics and Army Medical University in China, relies on a combination of to light measuring techniques which could diagnose cerebral ischemia non-invasively and faster than the techniques used currently.
"We can measure blood volume, blood oxygenation and blood flow using suitable near-infrared techniques," said Liguo Zhu, from China Academy of Engineering Physics.
Zhu said that "near-infrared light penetrates one to three centimetres and allows researchers to probe under the skin."
The working of the instrument relies on the combination of the near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopy, which analyses the light scattered from the tissues to calculate the amount of oxygen and blood within an area, and the diffuse correlation spectroscopy, which analyses fluctuation in the tissue-scattered lights to measure blood flow.
"Both techniques share the same detectors, which decreases the number of detectors compared to other instruments," said Zhu.
"The team's device can record a comprehensive profile of a body part's hemodynamics, or blood circulation. Devices should measure as many 'hemodynamic parameters' as necessary to obtain an accurate diagnosis, as 'the hemodynamics of stroke is complex'," said Hua Feng, from Army Medical University.
Another advantage of the device is that it is cheap and compact, which would make more accessible to the people, and hence, help treatment, diagnosis and chances of stroke, researchers said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)