Check if you're having a stroke in less than 10 minutes! See details here

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A stroke diagnosis can be known in just 10 minutes after researchers developed a technique that cut down current diagnostics lab work time.

Time is a crucial element in treating stroke patients; however, current tools for diagnosing the disease can take as long as three hours. Luckily, a new device developed by scientists Cornell University's Baker Institute for Animal Health can cut down lab work to just 10 minutes using a drop of blood from a suspected patient.

The research is detailed in the journal PLOS ONE where it could be used to identify or diagnose other conditions in both humans and animals including cancer, concussion, dementia and heart disease.

"Three-quarters of stroke patients suffer from ischemic stroke - a blockage of a blood vessel in the brain. In those cases, time is of the essence, because there is a good drug available, but for a successful outcome it has to be given within three or four hours after the onset of symptoms," lead author Roy Cohen, a scientist at the Baker Institute, said via EurekAlert. "By the time someone identifies the symptoms, gets to the hospital, and sits in the emergency room you don't have much time to obtain the full benefit of this drug."

The new technique could hasten patient care and save them from suffering the long-term effects of ischemic stroke.

A stroke is a condition where the blood supply to the brain is reduced or cut off, this can cause brain cells to die when deprived of nutrients or oxygen. It is considered to be the 4th leading cause of death in the United States following heart disease, cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease. One person every 40 seconds gets a stroke, and one person dies every 4 minutes because of it, according to Medical News Today.

To make the diagnostic test, researchers used nanoparticles with enzymes to convert stroke biomarkers into light. The researchers concentrated on biomarker neuron-specific enolase (NSE) which is plenty in stroke victims and found to be so effective that even little amounts of it can produce enough light for detection.

According to Medical Xpress, Cohen and colleagues will partner with a company to develop the diagnostic technique for mass production to distribute it to hospitals.

He adds that the new approach could also detect other conditions.

"This system could be tailored to detect multiple biomarkers," he said. That's the strength of the technique. You could assemble a microfluidic card based on this technology that could detect ten biomarkers in different wells, and the readout would be the same for each one: light."