IIT Mandi researchers develop simple, portable device to detect ischemic stroke

In a significant innovation, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, in collaboration with the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh have proposed and developed a simple, portable, and cost-effective device to detect and diagnose stroke caused by impaired blood flow to the brain.

A research paper describing the device and its operation was recently published in IEEE Sensors Journal.

The paper was co-authored by Dr Shubhajit Roy Chowdhury, Associate Professor, School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, IIT Mandi, and his student Mr Dalchand Ahirwar along with Dr Dheeraj Khurana, PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Ischemic stroke caused by insufficient or interrupted blood supply to part of the brain affects one of every 500 Indians every year. Surveys have shown that around 10% to 15% of all strokes affect people below 40 years of age. The efficient management and treatment of stroke depend upon early identification and diagnosis.

Also Read | Accenture, IIT-M collaborate to conduct deep technology research

Currently, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computer Tomography (CT) techniques are considered the gold standard for ischemic stroke detection. While these are indeed reliable methods, they require considerable infrastructure and high cost, and are inaccessible to many communities in India -- there is only one MRI service for every one million people in the country.

“We are working towards finding a low-cost diagnostic technique to precisely detect ischemic stroke at the point of care so that such tests can be used in rural, poor, and remote areas. Our team has designed and developed a small wearable device that makes use of Near Infrared Spectroscopy to detect isan chemic stroke. In this device, a near-infrared light emitting diode (NIRS LED) emits light in the range of 650 nm to 950 nm. This light interacts with the coloured components of the blood like hemoglobin and provides information on blood characteristics such as regional oxygen saturation, regional oxygen consumption, and regional blood volume index,” said Dr Choudhary.

The IIT Mandi team performed studies measuring the bio-markers under ischemic conditions at the forearm and the frontal lobe of the brain. The researchers also validated their detector prototype through experimental occlusion of the forearm and evoked ischemic stroke at the frontal lobe, and found excellent diagnostic potential.