At the 17th World Stroke Congress (WSC; 22–24 October 2025, Barcelona, Spain), Siemens Healthineers showcased its advanced mobile stroke unit (MSU), which has been designed to optimise emergency neurological care in Europe by diagnosing and treating stroke at the location where it occurs.
As stated in a Siemens press release, the MSU is a specialised ambulance that—operated by a team of specialist neurology professionals—is equipped with advanced technologies including computed tomography (CT), telemedicine and a point-of-care laboratory to help medical teams triage stroke patients more efficiently, reducing the time and costs associated with repeat imaging and emergency room waits.
Through the MSU’s implementation in Europe to date, the company says it has been able to record lower mortality rates 90 days after stroke as well as improvements in patients’ functional outcomes. Furthermore, time to treatment has proved to be 36 minutes faster, and more than half of the patients treated with the MSU achieve full recovery after three months compared to 43% with conventional care.
This technology is complemented by other cutting-edge initiatives being implemented by Siemens in southern Europe to optimise stroke management, such as the One Step Stroke—a non-mobile care model similar to the MSU. This facility is currently present at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona, Spain) and allows patients with severe stroke to be transferred directly to the centre’s angiography room for immediate diagnosis and treatment, eliminating intermediate steps and saving “crucial” minutes, according to the company’s recent release.
Another way in which Siemens is attempting to “revolutionise” stroke care is via the Umbrella project—an ambitious programme led by a European consortium of 20 public and private partners seeking to significantly improve diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. This initiative has received an investment of more than €26 million, through which innovative solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced digital technologies are currently being developed and implemented.
Furthermore, in early 2025—with the aim of identifying information gaps and barriers to prevention, and in collaboration with the Italian Stroke Association (ISA-AII)—the company launched a “barometer” to understand the population’s perception of stroke and address information deficits.
According to Siemens , the results of this demographic study—conducted in Italy and Spain—reveal a “worrying reality”: stroke is the third most concerning disease in both countries, behind only cancer and Alzheimer’s, but, despite this, 81% of respondents would not recognise its symptoms. While the population identifies modifiable risk factors like hypertension (64%) or a sedentary lifestyle (48%), this awareness does not translate into changes in preventive habits. Furthermore, the population incorrectly associates the disease with old age, ignoring the fact that it can equally affect young and healthy people.
Complementing this perception study, the company is using technology to increase awareness and training through its interactive virtual reality (VR) experience, ‘Time is brain’. This tool allows users to experience the complete management of a stroke firsthand from the perspectives of both the patient and the healthcare professional, simulating the entire process from transfer in an ambulance equipped with Siemens’ technology to a mechanical thrombectomy procedure, with the goal of underlining the importance of coordination between medical personnel and digitalisation through connected solutions.
“At Siemens Healthineers, we work every day to bring precision medicine and digital solutions closer to the clinical environment, with the goal of strengthening healthcare in Europe, saving lives, and reducing neurological sequelae,” said Beya Aich, the company’s head of advanced therapies for southern Europe. “Our technological innovations, such as the MSU, have demonstrated a direct and positive impact on patient survival and recovery, and—together with our immersive VR experience and the data from the stroke barometer—we have been able to make this commitment to society tangible. We want to contribute not only to treatment but also to the awareness and prevention of this disease that affects millions of people worldwide.”
