RIYADH: A Riyadh hospital has launched a new service that could dramatically improve stroke outcomes by treating patients while stuck in traffic.

At the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh on Monday, the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre launched the Mobile Stroke Unit.

The service can deliver immediate care to stroke victims, significantly improving recovery outcomes during the critical first hour after symptoms appear, also known as the “golden hour.”

The Mobile Stroke Unit addresses one of the main challenges in stroke care: Delays in reaching hospitals, particularly in congested urban areas like Riyadh.

Traffic often prolongs transport times, delaying critical treatment, lowering the chances of recovery and increasing the risk of death or lifelong disability.

KFSHRC’s Mobile Stroke Unit aims to overcome this challenge, providing stroke patients with immediate medical care en route to the hospital.

Once the Saudi Red Crescent Authority receives a report from a stroke victim’s family indicating symptoms such as arm weakness, facial drooping or speech difficulty, the Mobile Stroke Unit is dispatched immediately.

Inside the ambulance, a team of specialists, including a vascular neurologist, a critical care nurse, a paramedic and a CT scan technician, work together to diagnose and treat the patient before arriving at the hospital.

Dr. Fahad Al-Ajlan, a stroke neurologist at KFSHRC, highlighted the unit’s capabilities in an interview with Arab News.

“Basically, anything for a stroke patient, this emergency unit can deliver, starting from the diagnostic,” he said.

“We have here inside the unit advanced cutting-edge technology in addition to a cutting edge point-of-care lab and advanced medicine equipped with an AI for imaging.

“After establishing diagnosis, we could deliver the management for both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, and all the studies have shown that using this ambulance would lead to improved clinical outcome for both strokes and save the healthcare system a lot of budget.”

One of the most innovative features of the Mobile Stroke Unit is its ability to conduct CT scans and brain imaging while in transit, enabling medical teams to immediately determine whether the stroke is caused by a blocked artery or hemorrhage.

This allows staff to administer appropriate treatment on the spot, potentially saving millions of brain cells with each minute gained.

Patients treated within the first hour of symptom onset have a 70 percent higher chance of regaining normal function compared to those who experience delays in treatment, the hospital said.

The introduction of the Mobile Stroke Unit reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to advancing healthcare innovation as part of its Vision 2030 goals.

Stroke is a leading cause of death in the Kingdom, ranking third after heart disease and diabetes. By reducing the time between symptom onset and treatment, KFSHRC aims to lower the mortality rate and improve stroke outcomes for survivors, significantly improving their quality of life.

KFSHRC is recognized as a pioneering hospital and is well known for its medical research in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East.