Hyperfine, the company that created the Swoop system—which it claims is the world’s first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared portable magnetic resonance (MR) brain imaging system—has today announced the commencement of the ACTION PMR study.
To support its acute stroke care initiatives, Hyperfine has also formed an advisory board of “world-renowned stroke experts”.
As a prospective, international, multi-site observational study, ACTION PMR aims to examine the integration of brain imaging with the Swoop system into the stroke diagnosis and treatment workflow. The goal is to use point-of-care brain imaging to identify strokes and viable brain tissue that can be saved, according to a company press release.
MR imaging scans—which are more precise than computed tomography (CT) scans—are recommended for diagnosing acute ischaemic stroke within 12 hours of symptom onset by the American Academy of Neuroradiology. However, the limited availability of MR imaging scanners near acute care settings in many hospitals highlights the need for point-of-care MR brain imaging.
“The ACTION PMR study has the potential to improve stroke treatment all over the world, with the Swoop system assisting clinicians in imaging brain tissue and making timely diagnoses, which could lead to the implementation of more effective treatments and help to facilitate better patient outcomes,” said Khan Siddiqui, Hyperfine’s chief medical officer and chief strategy officer.
Four investigators will lead the study: W Taylor Kimberly of Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, USA), Adnan Siddiqui of the University at Buffalo (Buffalo, USA), Vivien Lee of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus, USA), and Keith Muir of the University of Glasgow (Glasgow, UK).
“Refining stroke diagnosis and care is central to all we do; as such, our research will focus on patients who do not immediately qualify for thrombectomy,” said Kimberly. “We hope this study may contribute to timelier diagnoses, paving the way for improved patient outcomes.”
Alongside the ACTION PMR study, the newly formed stroke advisory board—comprised of experts in the field—will provide insights and experiences to guide and define the impact the Swoop system can have in the fast-evolving field of acute stroke care, the release adds.
