{"id":14918,"date":"2016-07-14T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T16:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=14918"},"modified":"2014-07-14T09:00:58","modified_gmt":"2014-07-14T16:00:58","slug":"how-telemedicine-is-helping-brain-aneurysm-patients-m0622","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/how-telemedicine-is-helping-brain-aneurysm-patients-m0622\/","title":{"rendered":"How Telemedicine is Helping Brain Aneurysm Patients"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Broadband
Broadband technology is increasing the number of remote medical care options.<\/figcaption><\/figure> Some of the applications for telemedicine are obvious, like providing consultations from specialists to patients in remote areas for whom specialist care is unavailable.<\/p>\n

Telemedicine can also be beneficial for patients in many more locations when they\u2019re in a situation where time is critical. Stroke and brain aneurysm patients need medical attention quickly, and transferring a patient to a location where specialists are available isn\u2019t always time-efficient. Telemedicine is helping by allowing specialist consultations to emergency departments that need a specialist\u2019s expertise and need it quickly, like in cases of brain aneurysm.<\/p>\n

What Are Brain Aneurysms?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>, a brain aneurysm is a ballooning, or bulge in a blood vessel in the brain. On diagnostic images they may look like a berry hanging from a stem. When a brain aneurysm leaks or ruptures, it bleeds into the brain. Brain aneurysms often rupture into the space between the brain and the tissues that cover it. When this happens, the situation is life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention.<\/p>\n

Many brain aneurysms do not rupture, and don\u2019t cause any symptoms. These are often discovered by accident, when a physician tests for other conditions. Sometimes doctors treat un-ruptured brain aneurysms to prevent a rupture. In some cases, however, an aneurysm remains undetected until it ruptures, and quick action is needed. In 1999, a young girl named Marisa (Missy) Magel had an undetected brain aneurysm and died at summer camp when she was only 12 years old.<\/p>\n

The Missy Project<\/strong><\/p>\n

Missy\u2019s family and friends established The Missy Project<\/a> on November 24, 1999, which would have been Missy\u2019s 13th<\/sup> birthday. Missy\u2019s family researched brain aneurysm disease and found that it is not as rare as many people think, even in children. The disease is often misdiagnosed as migraine headaches.<\/p>\n

Each year, the total number of deaths from brain aneurysm ruptures is approximately equal to the number of deaths from prostate cancer, yet funding for research on the condition lags behind. In May of this year, The Missy Project donated $150,000 to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Center for Telehealth in New Hampshire. This medical center is working on using telemedicine to give brain aneurysm patients \u2013 regardless of age \u2013 real-time access to specialty care.<\/p>\n

The doctors at Dartmouth-Hitchcock say that telemedicine is particularly well-suited to neurovascular patients<\/a> like those with brain aneurysms, because a physical, in-person examination is typically not necessary. People diagnosed with un-ruptured brain aneurysms may wait weeks and drive long distances for a 15-minute appointment, and telemedicine like that practiced by the physicians at Dartmouth-Hitchcock lets patients replace this process with a telemedicine conference using a computer or mobile device, and if an in-person visit is necessary, one can be scheduled. Telemedicine has already been shown to be effective for patients taken to emergency departments with ruptured brain aneurysms.<\/p>\n

Telemedicine Saves Suzanne Singh\u2019s Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pennsylvanian Suzanne Singh was taken to the emergency department<\/a> at Lansdale Hospital after experiencing sudden vision problems, which indicated the possibility of an aneurysm pressing on her brain. This was confirmed when her physician at Lansdale ordered a CT scan. Afterward, physicians at Lansdale used a telemedicine connection to reach specialists at Abingdon Health Neurosciences Institute.<\/p>\n

At Abingdon, Dr. Quaisar A. Shah, director of Neurointerventional and Neurocritcal Care Services viewed her CT scans on a secure laptop and saw that the aneurysm had ruptured and was leaking into the space between her brain and the membrane covering it. He realized Suzanne needed to be transported immediately to Abingdon Memorial Hospital, where neurocritical care specialists would be standing by. Once there, Singh was stabilized, and excess fluid was drained from around her brain. Later, a catheter was directed to the location of the aneurysm, where tiny coils were placed to seal off the aneurysm. After 11 days in the hospital, Singh was discharged with no signs of complications.<\/p>\n

With secure videoconferencing technology, telemedicine lets neurologists, neurosurgeons, and other neurointerventionalists take care of several steps in caring for these patients, like<\/p>\n