On Saturday, the neurology department in the AIIMS launched a mobile application, "SMART-India App," to celebrate World Stroke Day, observed on October 29 every year. The app was launched as part of a research project aimed at helping physicians at district-level hospitals provide quality care to stroke patients. Additionally, IMPETUS and CARE-DAT, two other stroke-related programs, were also launched to improve the quality of life of disabled people who have suffered a stroke through newer technological advances.

Dr. Suhas Murali, Fellow, AIIMS, stated that the Centre for Advanced Research and Excellence in Disability and Assistive Technology (CARE-DAT) is a joint research project developed by AIIMS-New Delhi and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. CARE-DAT was developed to study the role of assistive technologies in optimizing functional recovery post-stroke with special emphasis on hand function and its validation of sustenance and long-term clinical impact.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rohit Bhatia, Professor, Department of Neurology at AIIMS, claimed that IMPETUS aims to investigate the feasibility of implementing a uniform stroke care pathway in medical colleges in India and to improve stroke care in medical facilities. He added that the study will be conducted in selected medical colleges in India to examine the changes in a select set of stroke care-related indicators.

He explained that during the implementation phase, education and training about the standard stroke care pathway will be provided to all stakeholders of implementing sites. Also, patient-level outcomes will be collected to design a thorough treatment framework that will include recognition and triaging in an emergency, rapid and timely evaluation and treatment, stroke etiological evaluation, in-hospital care, patient education, caregiver mentoring, adequate secondary prevention strategies, and rehabilitation in medical colleges. 

(Source: https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2021/10/29/des53-aiims-stroke-app.html )