The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has handed over two Mobile Stroke Units (MSUs) to the Government of Assam, marking a significant step in bringing life-saving stroke care closer to people living in rural, remote and difficult terrains of the Northeast.
The initiative addresses one of the most critical gaps in stroke management in India—delays in reaching stroke-ready hospitals—by taking advanced hospital-level care directly to patients’ doorsteps.
Stroke remains a leading cause of death and long-term disability in the country, with treatment delays resulting in the loss of nearly 1.9 billion brain cells every minute. Early intervention within the golden hour can dramatically reduce mortality and lifelong disability, yet geographic barriers have historically made timely care difficult in many regions. The MSU programme reverses this model by enabling a “hospital-on-wheels” approach, where diagnosis and treatment begin at or near the patient’s home.
India has now become the second country globally to demonstrate successful integration of Mobile Stroke Units with emergency medical services for treating rural acute ischemic stroke patients. While MSUs were first developed and evaluated in Germany and later in major global cities, their evaluation and deployment in the challenging terrain of Northeast India represents a major public health milestone.
Each MSU is equipped with a CT scanner, point-of-care laboratory, clot-busting drugs and real-time teleconsultation facilities with stroke specialists. This allows rapid diagnosis of stroke type and immediate initiation of treatment, significantly reducing delays that often prove fatal or disabling. The units are integrated with Assam’s 108 emergency ambulance service, extending coverage to a radius of nearly 100 kilometres.
The Northeast carries a disproportionately high stroke burden due to difficult terrain, long travel times and limited access to specialised care. To strengthen the stroke care continuum, ICMR has established a neurologist-led stroke unit at Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh, along with physician-led stroke units at Tezpur Medical College Hospital and Baptist Christian Hospital, Tezpur. The MSUs were embedded into this structured pre-hospital stroke care pathway.
Outcomes from the programme have been transformative. Treatment time has been reduced from nearly 24 hours to approximately two hours. Mortality has fallen by one-third, while stroke-related disability has been reduced nearly eightfold. Between 2021 and August 2024, the MSUs handled more than 2,300 emergency calls, screened 294 suspected stroke cases, and provided direct treatment to nearly 90 per cent of patients from their homes.
With the formal handover to the Assam government, the initiative is expected to strengthen the state’s emergency response system, ensure long-term continuity under state ownership and provide a scalable model for other regions facing similar healthcare access challenges.
The programme underscores a broader shift toward equitable, technology-enabled healthcare delivery, ensuring that advanced medical care reaches even the most vulnerable populations in India’s most difficult geographies.
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