Development of smartphone application that aids stroke screening and identifying nearby acute stroke care hospitals

Purpose: The benefits of thrombolytic treatment are time-dependent. We developed a smartphone application that aids stroke patient self-screening and hospital selection, and may also decrease hospital arrival time. Materials and Methods: The application was developed for iPhone and Android smartphones. Map data for the application were adopted from the open map. For hospital registration, a web page (http://stroke119.org) was developed using PHP and MySQL. Results: The Stroke 119 application includes a stroke screening tool and real-time information on nearby hospitals that provide thrombolytic treatment. It also provides information on stroke symptoms, thrombolytic treatment, and prescribed actions when stroke is suspected. The stroke screening tool was adopted from the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale and is displayed in a cartoon format. If the user taps a cartoon image that represents abnormal findings, a pop-up window shows that the user may be having a stroke, informs the user what to do, and directs the user to call emergency services. Information on nearby hospitals is provided in map and list views, incorporating proximity to the user's location using a Global Positioning System (a built-in function of smartphones). Users can search for a hospital according to specialty and treatment levels. We also developed a web page for hospitals to register in the system. Neurology training hospitals and hospitals that provide acute stroke care in Korea were invited to register. Seventy-seven hospitals had completed registration. Conclusion: This application may be useful for reducing hospital arrival times for thrombolytic candidates.