Edinburgh scientists pioneer smartphone app that detects strokes

Researchers at Edinburgh University have designed a mobile application that allows people to detect the symptoms of a stroke more quickly.

Scientists at Edinburgh University have invented a smartphone app which could help stroke victims receive hospital treatment more quickly.

The technology, believed to be the first of its kind, shows the user the likely symptoms so they can call for the appropriate treatment as speedily as possible.

Bill Gentleman, 72, had a stroke four years ago but has made a startling recovery and is an international gold medal-winning athlete in hammer throwing.

Mr Gentleman told STV News the new app could help some of the annual 12,000 stroke-sufferers in Scotland.

He said: “If you’ve got a problem you press the button and it immediately goes through and says you’re having a problem – and I think that would be very good.”

Experts echoed the importance of identifying the signs early on.

David Clark, Chief Executive of Chest, Heart, and Stroke Scotland, said: “A severe stroke can cost you two million brain cells a minute; that’s a tremendous loss. It can leave people with quite severe disabilities. The quicker you get into hospital for specialist treatment, the better your chance of survival.”

Dr William Whiteley, the research scientist who designed the technology, hopes his invention will lead to improved recovery rates.

He said: “Some people arrive too late at hospital for clock-busting treatment and we know that if they’d been recognised more quickly by people around them they could have benefited from this treatment, which probably helps one-in-10 people recover more quickly.”

For more information on stroke awareness, visit the STV Health Centre, brought to you by NHS inform.

App: Stroke sufferers can get help. Pic: © STV