One of the most challenging aspects of treating acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is getting the available treatments to the right patients in enough time to positively impact outcomes. Stroke treatment efficacy is very time dependent, and research suggests there is an association between earlier treatment and better outcomes. Brain cells start to die after only four minutes without oxygen, and 1.9 million neurons and 14 billion synapses are lost each minute during a typical large-vessel ischemic stroke. (See Exhibit 1.)
Exhibit 1