ANYONE WHO has suffered from a stroke or knows someone who has is aware that when it comes to successful treatment time is of the essence. An iPhone application from an Irish medical tech company is saving precious time for stroke patients.
“Following a stroke, there’s a three-hour window in which it’s possible to deliver clot busting treatment,” explains Prof Declan Lyons, clinician and co-founder of CliniSynergy, the firm behind the Stroke app.
“Often in practical terms there is no more than half an hour by the time patient is admitted for treatment. The problem is that the stroke evaluation test can take up to 20 minutes to administer in paper format.”
Using the Stroke app this evaluation can be performed by medical staff in four minutes, adding 16 minutes of potentially brain-saving time, explains Prof Lyons.
This is one of nine medical apps created by CliniSynergy and targeted at medical professionals.
“The idea for the company came out of academic work.
“There are a multitude of established scales that help in the diagnosis and prognostication of ailments but in reality they can be cumbersome to deploy in a clinical setting.”
Prof Lyons and co-founder Fergal McDonnell felt that the app format would breathe new life into pre-existing diagnostic tools by putting them on smartphones and making them quick and easy to use by doctors.
These clinical apps range from those used in the evaluation of osteoporosis to one for monitoring diabetes, which was sponsored by Sanofi-Aventis.
Prof Lyons decided to make them available through the Apple app store so theoretically anyone can download them.
“We haven’t set out to make apps aimed at patients but we know that some non-medical professionals do use them,” he said.
“We’re looking at the possibility of modifying some of the apps to make them more palatable to patient groups.”
Currently, the biggest market for CliniSynergy’s apps are the United States and Canada followed by Japan, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
The most frequently downloaded app is Frax. It was commissioned by the World Health Organisation in partnership with the International Osteoporosis Foundation and is used by medical professionals worldwide.
Although the medical app market is new it has plenty of potential, says Prof Lyons. The company chose Apple’s operating system because, aside from its popularity in general it appears the iPhone is used in a high proportion by medical doctors, he says.
CliniSynergy’s 10th app will be on the App store in the next few weeks. It was developed in association with Pfizer and will provide guidelines on the appropriate use of antibiotics.
