ISC 2026 | Lessons learned from the implementation of the first mobile stroke unit in the MENA region
Ammar Alkawi, MD, FAAN, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, discusses the implementation and benefits of the first mobile stroke unit in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Dr Alkawi highlights that the unit has significantly impacted patient care by providing rapid diagnosis and treatment. This interview took place at the 2026 International Stroke Congress (ISC), held in New Orleans, LA.
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Transcript
The mobile stroke unit has been a recent addition to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. It is the first unit of its kind in the Middle East, North Africa, and the whole region in that area. It definitely has a tremendous impact on patient care and delivering care to the patients as soon as possible. It was deployed through dispatch coordinated by the Red Crescent and it started bringing in patients with acute stroke or acute hemorrhagic intracranial hemorrhages...
The mobile stroke unit has been a recent addition to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. It is the first unit of its kind in the Middle East, North Africa, and the whole region in that area. It definitely has a tremendous impact on patient care and delivering care to the patients as soon as possible. It was deployed through dispatch coordinated by the Red Crescent and it started bringing in patients with acute stroke or acute hemorrhagic intracranial hemorrhages. These mobile stroke units are capable of diagnosing with a CT scan on board with the CT angio. It also is capable of delivering thrombolytic treatment to the patients who require them. And for the patients who require reversal of anticoagulation agents, the medications are also on board. It has point-of-care testing on board. And it also is capable with the Teladoc, so patients can be attended to remotely, and it also has a nurse, CT tech, and a vascular neurology physician on board. So it really impacted the times, it minimized times for delivering definitive treatment to patients tremendously, where the patients are diagnosed, triaged, given appropriate treatment, and minimized inter-hospital transfers, unnecessary inter-hospital transfers. Also, it was deployed during Hajj, which gave us a huge experience, and it definitely minimized transfer times, and it helped triage patients to the appropriate hospitals, and it delivered definitive care for about 90% of the patients who came through. The mobile stroke unit taught us that it is more suitable and more convenient to deliver the care to the patient rather than deliver the patient to the care center. It definitely minimized unnecessary inter-hospital transfer times. It is able to be deployed in crowded urban areas or large mass gatherings, such as religious gatherings, Olympics, World Cup, concerts. And it really minimizes the time for diagnosing, delivering time-sensitive treatment, and taking the patient to the closest appropriate hospital to deal with the case.
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