Yonsei Med J.  2014 Jan;55(1):25-29. 10.3349/ymj.2014.55.1.25.

Development of Smartphone Application That Aids Stroke Screening and Identifying Nearby Acute Stroke Care Hospitals

• Nam HS
• Heo J
• Kim J
• Kim YD
• Song TJ
• Park E
• Heo JH

• KMID: 1779882
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2014.55.1.25

Abstract

PURPOSE
The benefits of thrombolytic treatment are time-dependent. We developed a smartphone application that aids stroke patient self-screening and hospital selection, and may also decrease hospital arrival time.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The application was developed for iPhone and Android smartphones. Map data for the application were adopted from the open map. For hospital registration, a web page (http://stroke119.org) was developed using PHP and MySQL.
RESULTS
The Stroke 119 application includes a stroke screening tool and real-time information on nearby hospitals that provide thrombolytic treatment. It also provides information on stroke symptoms, thrombolytic treatment, and prescribed actions when stroke is suspected. The stroke screening tool was adopted from the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale and is displayed in a cartoon format. If the user taps a cartoon image that represents abnormal findings, a pop-up window shows that the user may be having a stroke, informs the user what to do, and directs the user to call emergency services. Information on nearby hospitals is provided in map and list views, incorporating proximity to the user's location using a Global Positioning System (a built-in function of smartphones). Users can search for a hospital according to specialty and treatment levels. We also developed a web page for hospitals to register in the system. Neurology training hospitals and hospitals that provide acute stroke care in Korea were invited to register. Seventy-seven hospitals had completed registration.
CONCLUSION
This application may be useful for reducing hospital arrival times for thrombolytic candidates.

Keyword

Thrombolysis; smartphone; emergency delivery service; stroke

MeSH Terms

*Cellular Phone
Geographic Information Systems
Hospitals
Humans
Republic of Korea
Stroke/*diagnosis

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Stroke screening tool. Cartoon figures for facial palsy (A), arm weakness (B), and a command for reading a sentence to judge speech disturbances (C) are displayed one-by-one. A user can select a cartoon image by tapping the screen. When the user taps a cartoon image representing abnormal responses, a pop-up window shows that the user may be having a stroke, informs the user to go to a hospital immediately, and asks if the user wants to call 1-1-9 (emergency phone number) (D). If the user taps the "Yes" icon, the application connects to 1-1-9 immediately. These screen shots are translated into English.

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  Fig. 2 Finding nearby hospitals. The Stroke 119 application provides information on nearby hospitals in a map view (A) and a list view (B). In the map view, both the user's location and nearest hospitals are displayed on the map (A). In the list view, the nearest hospitals are shown with the closest hospitals at the top of the list (B). By using option menu, the user can select hospitals according to their specialty, available treatments, and the presence of a stroke unit (C). These screen shots are shown translated into English.

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