Delhi, Jan 22: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability in India. In a stroke, every minute matters—nearly 1.9 billion brain cells are lost every minute if treatment is delayed. Timely care within the golden hour can significantly reduce deaths and lifelong disability. However, the biggest challenge in stroke care is the time taken for patients to reach a stroke-ready hospital.
Addressing this critical gap, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) handed over two Mobile Stroke Units (MSU) to the Government of Assam, marking a major shift from stroke patients from remote areas trying to get to hospitals to a hospital reaching patients. Developed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, the initiative reflects the Government’s commitment to ensuring that advanced healthcare reaches the poorest, most marginalized, and vulnerable populations, including women, even in the most challenging geographies.
Handing over the MSU to the Government of Assam, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research and Director General, ICMR, said, “Mobile Stroke Units were first developed in Germany and later evaluated in major global cities. India has evaluated such units in a rural, remote, and difficult terrain in Northeast India. We are also the second country globally to report successful integration of an MSU with emergency medical services for treating rural acute ischemic stroke patients.”
Sharing the state’s experience, P. Ashok Babu, Secretary & Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare, Government of Assam, said that “the handover strengthens Assam’s emergency response system and ensures continuity of this life-saving service under state ownership”. He noted that the collaboration with ICMR has enabled faster treatment, better coordination, and improved outcomes for stroke patients, and provides a strong foundation for expansion.
The MSU is a mobile hospital on wheels, equipped with a CT scanner, teleconsultation with specialists, point-of-care laboratory, and clot-busting drugs, enabling early diagnosis and treatment of stroke at or near the patient’s home. This innovation is especially crucial for remote and difficult terrains, where travel to hospitals can take several hours. Through specialist teleconsultation, the MSU enables early identification of stroke type and rapid initiation of treatment—saving lives and preventing disability.
The Northeast has a disproportionately high burden of stroke. Difficult terrain, long distances, and limited access to specialized care have historically made timely stroke treatment challenging. To address this, ICMR established a neurologist-led stroke unit at Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh, and physician-led stroke units at Tezpur Medical College Hospital and Baptist Christian Hospital, Tezpur. The Mobile Stroke Units were embedded into this pre-hospital stroke care pathway.
The results have been transformative. The model reduced treatment time from nearly 24 hours to about 2 hours, reduced deaths by one-third, and reduced disability by eight times. Between 2021 and August 2024, the MSU received over 2,300 emergency calls. Trained nurses screened 294 suspected stroke cases, with 90% of patients treated directly from their homes. Integration of the MSU with the 108-emergency ambulance service expanded its reach to a 100 km radius.
Senior officials from the Centre and states, along with ICMR leadership, including Dr Christina Z. Chongthu, Secretary (Health), Government of Telangana; Dr Sanghamitra Pati, Additional Director General, ICMR; Dr Alka Sharma, Additional Director General, ICMR; Ms Manisha Saxena, Senior DDG (Administration); and Dr R.S. Dhaliwal, Head, NCD, were present at the event.
