Optimizing mobile stroke unit deployment: A strategic case study in the greater Oslo area.

IF 5.8 3区医学 Q1 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

European Stroke Journal Pub Date : 2025-03-27 DOI:10.1177/23969873251329862

Berend Markhorst, Caroline Jagtenberg, Maren Ranhoff Hov, Rob van der Mei, Karianne Larsen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: A Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU) enables prehospital acute stroke assessment, which leads to increased treatment rates and improved patient outcomes. However, for optimal utilization of the specialized resource, identifying the proper location for the MSU is crucial. Motivated by this, our goal was to find the optimal placement of an MSU in the greater Oslo area using geospatial mapping, and to explore how the location may influence acute stroke treatment.

Methods: Historical data on suspected and confirmed strokes with the respective geospatial data and calculated travel times were analyzed using a mathematical optimization model based on the Maximum Coverage Location Problem (MCLP) and solved with the Gurobi solver. The model is universal and may be adapted to other regions and countries.

Results: The optimal base location for a single MSU in the greater Oslo area would increase the coverage of stroke patients by 17%. The rendez-vous approach would further improve the coverage by approximately 300% for confirmed stroke patients. In the optimal location, the MSU has the potential to reduce time to thrombolysis by 27 minutes (25%) and time to thrombectomy by around 35 minutes (20%).

Conclusion: Strategic placement of an MSU in the greater Oslo area significantly increases patient coverage and may reduce treatment times in acute stroke. Geospatial analyses have the potential to aid decision making on MSU location, optimize prehospital acute stroke assessment and improve patient outcomes.

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来源期刊

European Stroke Journal Multiple-

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

6.60%

发文量

102

期刊介绍： Launched in 2016 the European Stroke Journal (ESJ) is the official journal of the European Stroke Organisation (ESO), a professional non-profit organization with over 1,400 individual members, and affiliations to numerous related national and international societies. ESJ covers clinical stroke research from all fields, including clinical trials, epidemiology, primary and secondary prevention, diagnosis, acute and post-acute management, guidelines, translation of experimental findings into clinical practice, rehabilitation, organisation of stroke care, and societal impact. It is open to authors from all relevant medical and health professions. Article types include review articles, original research, protocols, guidelines, editorials and letters to the Editor. Through ESJ, authors and researchers have gained a new platform for the rapid and professional publication of peer reviewed scientific material of the highest standards; publication in ESJ is highly competitive. The journal and its editorial team has developed excellent cooperation with sister organisations such as the World Stroke Organisation and the International Journal of Stroke, and the American Heart Organization/American Stroke Association and the journal Stroke. ESJ is fully peer-reviewed and is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Issues are published 4 times a year (March, June, September and December) and articles are published OnlineFirst prior to issue publication.