Sonothrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke treatment

Abstract

Stroke has been one of the leading chronicle diseases leading to millions of death worldwide. Despite the current advancement in technology that helps reduce the risk of deaths, the death rates still increase at a decreasing rate. This is mainly attributed by the improper lifestyle of people. The main objective of the project is to determine if low magnitude ultrasound affects the lysis process. To determine this, the scope of the report will include experiments that will allow comparison of current and new methods. The new method differs in the addition of ultrasound that is hypothesized to speed up the lysis process. Furthermore, experiments on enzymatic labeling are conducted concurrently with the aim of designing and developing ways to enable real time monitoring. This experiment has successfully established an in-vitro mock system of the blood cloting and thrombolysis process that simulates activities in the artery of the brain. The experiment has demonstrated that thrombolysis was accelerated in the presence of ultrasound. Though the key parameter that contributes to thrombolysis was the rt-PA, the experimental results obtained were compared and it suggest that thrombolysis was accelerated in the presence of ultrasound. The results will encourage the application of rt-PA effectively which can be used to save lives.