Milwaukee woman saved by new stroke technology

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Ascension Wisconsin is now using a new technology called RAPID to detect strokes in as little as 90 seconds.

The complete rollout of the technology will be finished at the end of March at Ascension Wisconsin hospital campuses statewide.

It is already up and running at Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital where 88-year-old Dorothy Mueller, better known as Dottie, survived a stroke February 24.

“We couldn’t believe it,” Mueller said. “It was a miracle.”

The RAPID technology helped save her life.

“I got a notification on my Apple watch that there was a stroke at Columbia St. Mary’s in Wisconsin,” Dr. Daniel Gibson, Director of Neurointerventional Surgery for Ascension Wisconsin, said.

Dr. Daniel Gibson was able to review Dottie’s brain scans in seconds from his phone and figure out where her clot was before he was even at the hospital.

“There was a very large area in the right brain that was not getting blood in the way that it should,” Dr. Gibson said.

Getting this information used to take up to 90 minutes, now it is received in seconds thanks to RAPID.

“RAPID is an artificial intelligence software that allows us to process neuroimaging in almost instantaneous and near real time,” Dr. Gibson said.

Once they knew where Dottie’s clots were, they were able to successfully perform surgery to remove them.

“I can’t tell you how thankful I am,” Mueller said.

Dr. Gibson says dizziness, having trouble seeing, or arm weakness are all signs of stroke. He says if you experience any of these to head to the hospital.