Medical technology firm Penumbra designed the tool. The process involves going in through the patient’s groin, and threading a tiny catheter into a blood vessel. That catheter goes up to the neck, at which point an even smaller catheter emerges from it and goes into the brain, whereupon it vacuums out the blood clot. "It requires years of training to be able to do this," said Dr. Mayank Goyal, director of the Seaman Centre. "It places enormous demands on the interventionalist, on the imaging specialists, and on the emergency team that gets the patient to a designated stroke care facility. Teamwork is key for success.” The Penumbra System is intended for use on ischemic strokes, which involve blood clots in the brain, and constitute 80% of all strokes. Currently, such clots are treated with the drug t-PA, which has to be administered within three hours of the event. The new system involves less of a risk of bleeding, and may still work after more than three hours.

(Source: Gizmag)