State plan to get KEM docs to remotely operate on stroke patients in rural Maha

Times News Network

Mumbai: The Maharashtra health department is planning to launch a “remote robotic neurointervention” programme to help stroke patients in rural areas receive life-saving treatment within the critical “golden hour”.

The proposal, discussed at a meeting chaired by Maharashtra health minister Prakash Abitkar on Saturday, envisages neurosurgeons at KEM Hospital remotely guiding or performing stroke interventions at district and taluka hospitals through robotic systems connected via high-speed 5G networks.

Under the proposed hub-and-spoke model, KEM Hospital in Parel will function as the central command hub, while rural hospitals will be equipped with robotic arms and cath lab facilities. Specialists in Mumbai will remotely assist local doctors in carrying out emergency procedures for stroke patients, reducing the need to shift critically ill patients to metropolitan hospitals.

The initiative is being planned amid a severe shortage of neurologists and advanced stroke-care facilities in rural Maharashtra. The health department is establishing cath labs at 11 locations across the state, with five centres likely to be selected for the pilot phase of the robotic programme.

Officials said the burden of stroke in India remains high due to widespread diabetes and hypertension. Estimates suggest that barely 3% of stroke patients reach hospitals in time for intervention, leaving many with long-term disability.

Senior neurosurgeon Nitin Dange, who led a pilot robotic stroke intervention project at KEM Hospital in 2020, attended the preliminary meeting.

“The number of stroke patients has been increasing in the last few years. It is very important for such patients to get treatment during the ‘golden hour’. If expert doctors and modern facilities are not available in time, the risk of permanent paralysis increases,” said Abitkar.

“Instead of shifting patients to big cities, the department is trying to provide modern treatment methods at the nearest govt hospital,” he added.