The Lithuanian Stroke Database: selection of national stroke care performance measures

This is the whole problem in stroke enumerated in one word; 'care'; NOT RECOVERY!

YOU have to get involved and change this failure mindset of 'care' to 100% RECOVERY! Survivors want RECOVERY, NOT 'CARE'!

I see nothing here that states going for 100% recovery! You need to create EXACT PROTOCOLS FOR THAT!

ASK SURVIVORS WHAT THEY WANT, THEY'LL NEVER RESPOND 'CARE'! This tyranny of low expectations has to be completely rooted out of any stroke conversation! I wouldn't go there because of such incompetency as not having 100% recovery protocols!

RECOVERY IS THE ONLY GOAL IN STROKE! GET THERE!

 The Lithuanian Stroke Database: selection of national stroke care performance measures

Austėja Dapkutė¹, Justas Trinkūnas^2,3, Daiva Rastenytė⁴, Vaidas Matijošaitis⁴, Saulius Taroza^1,5, Dalius Jatužis¹, Sandra Baužaitė-Babušienė⁶, Aleksandras Vilionskis¹, Andrius Klimašauskas⁷, Julius Juodakis³, Julius Jaramavičius⁸ and Rytis Masiliūnas^1*

¹Clinic of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

²Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Fundamental Sciences, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius, Lithuania

3Centre for Digital Medicine, Translational Health Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

4Department of Neurology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania

5Klaipėda University Hospital, Klaipėda, Lithuania

6Department of Neurology, Republican Panevėžys Hospital, Panevėžys, Lithuania

7Clinic of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

8Clinic of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

Edited by

Thanh G. Phan, Monash Health, Australia

Reviewed by

Julie Morrison, University of Melbourne, Australia

Anne Hickey, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Ireland

*Correspondence

Rytis Masiliūnas, rytis.masiliunas@santa.lt

Received 23 December 2024

Accepted 12 May 2025

Published 23 May 2025

Citation

Dapkutė A, Trinkūnas J, Rastenytė D, Matijošaitis V, Taroza S, Jatužis D, Baužaitė-Babušienė S, Vilionskis A, Klimašauskas A, Juodakis J, Jaramavičius J and Masiliūnas R (2025) The Lithuanian Stroke Database:

Introduction: The Lithuanian Stroke Database (StrokeLT) aims to automate data collection and key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring across all stroke-ready hospitals, addressing the limitations of manual processes and facilitating evidence-based improvements in stroke care nationwide. This publication outlines the selection process and target values of the KPIs designed to standardise and enhance stroke care quality in Lithuania.

Study population: The database will include all adult patients diagnosed with stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), admitted to Lithuanian stroke-ready hospitals, encompassing approximately 9,582 annual stroke and 1,899 TIA admissions based on 2023 data. The database will ensure comprehensive national coverage by integrating data from stroke centres via a centralised electronic health record system.

Main variables: A total of 53 KPIs were selected through a multi-stage Delphi process involving national experts and guided by international standards. These KPIs include 44 process metrics, such as timeliness metrics, early rehabilitation, and availability of secondary prevention, as well as 8 outcome metrics, including functional recovery, completion of a patient feedback survey and mortality. This framework enables comprehensive monitoring across all stages of patient care, as well as incorporating valuable patient feedback.

Conclusion: The Lithuanian Stroke Database establishes a standardised automated framework for monitoring stroke care using 53 KPIs, selected through a multi-stage Delphi process involving all relevant stakeholders.

Lithuanian researchers develop breakthrough stroke monitoring system

 This would seem to solve the problem of stroke mimics and hard to diagnose cases. But nothing will occur from this; THERE IS NO STROKE LEADERSHIP SOLVING STROKE! Nobody in stroke is doing one damn thing to solve stroke!

Lithuanian researchers develop breakthrough stroke monitoring system

Kaunas University of Technology (KTU)May 16 2025

Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15 million people suffer a stroke each year. Of these, 5 million die and another 5 million are left permanently disabled. It is also estimated that someone suffers a stroke every two seconds, and dies from it every six seconds.

When a stroke occurs, every minute counts - it determines how much brain tissue can be saved. But even after successful care during the emergency phase, long-term monitoring becomes crucial, as the long and complex recovery process begins.

Stroke is a critical condition where prompt diagnosis determines the success of treatment. Post-stroke monitoring is equally important, as the patient's condition may worsen."

Dr. Darius Jegelevičius, a researcher at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania

To address this need, Lithuanian scientists have developed a system that simultaneously measures heart activity, pulse propagation, physical movement, and changes in blood flow within brain tissue.

Synchronized signals for stroke insight

One of the system's key innovations is its ability to synchronously record several physiological signals that reflect the activity of the entire circulatory system. According to Dr Jegelevičius, although predicting a stroke is extremely difficult, once it occurs, combining data on the heart's electrical activity, vascular biomechanics, and cerebral blood flow helps create a detailed picture of circulatory processes.

The system registers cardiac activity using an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a photoplethysmogram (FPG), physical motion through an inertial sensor, and cerebral blood flow changes via bioimpedance measurements.

"An ECG reflects the heart's electrical stimulation, which triggers muscle contraction. The FPG, which works by detecting how light is absorbed or reflected by tissue, shows the propagation of blood pulses throughout the body and reflects the biomechanics of the circulatory system," Jegelevičius explains.

What sets this system apart is its use of bioimpedance, an indicator of the tissue's resistance to electrical current. "We all know that electricity flows better in wet environments - water lowers resistance. The same applies to biological tissue: more blood means lower bioimpedance, less blood means higher," he says.

This principle allows the system to detect how blood flow is distributed in the brain, something that changes during and after a stroke. "When a stroke occurs, a blockage in a blood vessel disrupts normal cerebral circulation. These changes are reflected in bioimpedance measurements," he adds.

A step closer to forecasting stroke

Although the system does not yet predict stroke with full certainty, it already helps monitor condition changes and identify potential risks. "We cannot yet claim it will detect a recurrent stroke or other serious event, but the potential is there," says Jegelevičius.

To be effective in different clinical contexts, the system is designed for both short-term and long-term monitoring, including use during rehabilitation. Its two main components - cardiovascular and cerebral bioimpedance monitoring - can function independently, but their combination provides synchronised and more comprehensive physiological data.

This data is not only collected but also processed using a hybrid approach. Some analyses, such as derivative parameters from ECG and FPG, are performed directly on the device. More complex calculations, like the spatial distribution of bioimpedance across the scalp, are handled by an external computer or remote server.

The technology is already protected under a European patent held jointly by Kaunas University of Technology, the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, and Gruppo Fos Lithuania.

Researchers believe this invention may eventually prove useful not only for post-stroke monitoring but also for managing other neurological and cardiovascular conditions.

The commercialization of the invention is facilitated by the KTU National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre.

 

Source:

Kaunas University of Technology (KTU)7u

Unique integrated health monitoring system for stroke survivors patented in Lithuania

Will your stroke hospital followup and see if this can be used?  

Do you prefer your incompetence NOT KNOWING? OR NOT DOING?

Their reasons for doing nothing? There is absolutely no excuse for doing nothing. They should all be keel-hauled. 

Laziness? Incompetence? Or just don't care? No leadership? No strategy? Not my job?

The latest here.

Unique integrated health monitoring system for stroke survivors patented in Lithuania

The original article was published by Kaunas University of Technology. You can read the article here.

Group of biomedical engineers from biotech company Gruppo Fos Lithuania together with researchers at Kaunas University of Technology and Lithuanian University of Health Sciences have patented technology for advanced health monitoring of stroke survivors. It is the first solution in the world which monitors and analyses simultaneously a patient’s health parameters from the affected part of the brain and those of the cardiovascular system.

Stroke is a sudden impairment of the cerebral circulation, resulting in the death of the brain cells, neurons. Neurologists estimate that 1 hour of the interrupted blood supply to the brain is equivalent to 3.6 years of ageing. Therefore, the first rule for the medical personnel while reacting to acute stroke is “time is brain”, which means that help needs to be provided as soon as possible. Post-stroke rehabilitation starts instantly after the medical condition of the patient is stabilised. Global statistics reveal that 18 per cent of stroke survivors experience the second stroke in 4 years’ time.

“Our technology can be used for constant or episodic monitoring both in medical facilities and at home or in similar environments. The prototype for the cerebral circulation measuring equipment is akin to a light helmet placed on the head of the patient; the assistance of medical personnel is required while using it”, says Dr Darius Jegelevicius from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) Biomedical Engineering Institute, the head of the research group behind the invention.

The system created by Lithuanian researchers includes a synchronic recording of the following parameters: electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmogram (PPG, an optically obtained graph that allows detecting blood volume changes in the microvascular bed of tissue) and electrical bio-impedance cerebral monitoring (in order to detect changes on electrical properties of cerebral tissue). These signals can be analysed and compared against each other; any delays, deviations and the dynamics of change are being observed and recorded. Two groups of variables are being measured – those reflecting changes in cerebral tissue, and the indicators of cardiovascular system health. As they are being analysed simultaneously, more information about the health of the patient is being obtained than while interpreting each variable separately.

“Our technology is intended for post-stroke follow-up including monitoring of the brain damage dynamics and observing cardiovascular parameters, which are connected to the increased risk of stroke. The patented invention is the system of collecting multimodal signals from the human organism, which can potentially provide us with new information about the health parameters of stroke survivors”, explains the biomedical engineer of Gruppo FOS Lithuania Mantas Mikulenas.

According to him, the system created in Lithuania is the first in the world. There is no equivalent medical technology which would monitor and register all these parameters, vital for preventing the recurrence of stroke among survivors, and would provide integrated advanced analysis of the collected data.

“The main challenge lies ahead – the road of medical technologies to patients is very long, especially if the invention is complex and its efficiency needs to be proved by clinical research. However, we already have a tool, which can be adapted for concrete practical solutions. Hopefully, before long our technology for integrated health monitoring of stroke survivors will be available for medical personnel and patients”, says the director of Gruppo FOS Lithuania Rosita Makauskiene.

The invention is being developed by three partners – Gruppo Fos Lithuania biotech company, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. All the partners contributed equally to the invention accordingly to their fields of competences – development of the idea, technological implementation and medical research and testing.

The first prototype of the system has already been developed. In the near future, it will be tested with patients. The invention is being commercialised by Gruppo Fos Lithuania Biomedical Engineering Centre, established in 2015 by Italian high technology solutions company Gruppo Fos.

The patent for the invention has been issued by The State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania on 10/04/2020. Patent No. 6729. The project “Biomedical electronic equipment for post-stroke monitoring (StrokeMonitor)” is funded by European Regional Development Fund according to the 2014–2020 Operational Programme for the European Union Funds’ Investments under measure No. 01.2.1-LVPA-K-823 “Smartlnvest LT+”.