Smart wire reveals secrets of stroke
"Russia Today" – Researchers participated in the first human trial of a thin wire equipped with electrical sensors that can determine the characteristics of a stroke clot and map its composition in real time during its removal.
The electrical properties of red blood cells, platelets, and the arterial wall differ, allowing the device to distinguish between them during the procedure. This may provide doctors with information about the nature, location, and size of the clot—information that is typically available only after the clot has been removed and examined in the laboratory.
The results showed no cases of vascular perforation or dissection. The device achieved an accuracy of 0.97 in identifying red blood cell–rich clots and 0.94 in identifying platelet-rich clots, on a scale where perfect accuracy is 1.0.
The device was also able to identify the arterial wall and the distal end of the clot, which may help doctors estimate its length without the need to inject a special contrast agent. Researchers were also able to create a map of the clot’s composition based on the readings recorded by the device as it passed through the clot; these findings were consistent with the histological analysis of clot fragments after removal.
The significance of this technology lies in the fact that the clot’s composition may influence how it is removed, as red blood cell–rich clots differ from platelet-rich ones. Nevertheless, doctors typically do not know the nature of the clot before treatment begins.
The trial was led by Dr. Andrew Chung from Australia and Émeric Rochaud from France, with participation from Professor Karen Doyle of the University of Galway and the Rennes Medical Devices Center. The study’s results were published in the journal "NeuroInterventional Surgery."
Doyle stated that real-time knowledge of the clot’s composition may help doctors in the future tailor treatment approaches to each patient’s condition, while Chung noted that the trial demonstrated the safe integration of this technology into stroke treatment procedures.
