Advancing Stroke Care: An intraarterial stem cell delivery system

中风是一种严重的医疗紧急情况，当大脑的血液供应中断或减少时，最终导致脑细胞死亡。它是导致死亡和长期残疾的全球主要原因，仅在英国每年就有超过10万例确诊病例，这意味着每五分钟就有一名中风患者报告。令人震惊的是，目前有超过130万中风幸存者生活在英国，应对任何疾病所带来的最广泛的损害。英国国家卫生服务局每年为中风的治疗和管理拨款30亿英镑，由于中风相关的残疾，生产力损失和非正式护理，额外的经济成本为40亿英镑。我们项目的重点是开发一种开创性的解决方案，用于在中风后将干细胞输送到大脑，这是一个导致死亡和残疾的重大全球健康问题。通过探索干细胞疗法，中风患者的康复可能会发生革命性的变化;然而，挑战在于找到一种方法将干细胞准确地输送到大脑的受影响区域，因为目前的方法效率低下，风险很高。我们的团队旨在创建一种尖端的输送方法，该方法使用成像技术引导的微导管将干细胞和药物直接输送到大脑受损部位，确保精确性和安全性。我们的创新方法的成功实施可能会扩展到其他医疗领域，包括心脏修复和癌症免疫治疗。

Stroke is a grave medical emergency that arises when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted or reduced, ultimately leading to the demise of brain cells. It is a global leading cause of mortality and long-term disability, with over 100,000 cases diagnosed annually in the United Kingdom alone - meaning a stroke victim is reported every five minutes. Shockingly, more than 1.3 million stroke survivors are currently living in the UK, coping with the most extensive range of impairments presented by any disease. The National Health Service in the UK allocates an astonishing £3 billion annually towards stroke treatment and management, with an additional £4 billion economic cost due to stroke-related disability, lost productivity, and informal care.The focus of our project is to develop a ground-breaking solution for delivering stem cells to the brain following a stroke, which is a major global health issue leading to fatalities and disabilities. The recovery of stroke patients could be revolutionised by exploring stem cell therapy; however, the challenge lies in finding a way to accurately deliver the stem cells to the affected area of the brain, as current methods are inefficient and carry high risks. Our team aims to create a cutting-edge method of delivery that uses a microcatheter guided by imaging techniques to deliver stem cells and medication directly to the damaged part of the brain, ensuring precision and safety. The successful implementation of our innovative approach could potentially be extended to other medical fields, including cardiac repair and cancer immunotherapy.