Speedy finger-prick tests to diagnose strokes trialled in Cambridgeshire

Kits could allow ambulance crews to identify patients with blood clots in their brain, allowing for quicker treatment

• How lateral flow tests are becoming a diagnostic gamechanger

Ambulance crews in Cambridgeshire are piloting the use of finger-prick blood tests to diagnose the deadliest form of stroke, with preliminary data suggesting they may be up to twice as effective as relying on patients' symptoms alone.

The tests, which work on a similar principle to the lateral flow tests (LFTs) used to detect Covid, are designed to rapidly identify whether someone suspected of having a stroke has suffered a large vessel occlusion (LVO), where a blood clot blocks a major artery in the brain.