Lead: Professor William Whiteley
Stroke strikes every five minutes, and for over 1.2 million stroke survivors living in the UK, many questions remain about its causes, prevention, treatment, and long-term effects. In partnership with the Stroke Association, the Stroke Data Science Catalyst brings together health data, cutting-edge technology, and research to better understand and tackle stroke, improving the lives of people affected by the condition.
What we do
We make it easier for researchers to harness health data to transform stroke care and outcomes. By linking data from hospitals, GPs, imaging, and even wearable devices, and drawing on the experiences of people affected by stroke, we’re opening the door to new insights into stroke risk, response, recovery, and rehabilitation.
Key areas of work
Driver projects
We’re supporting two research teams investigating the links between stroke and COVID-19, directly funded through the catalyst. These projects could offer new insights to improve how these conditions are diagnosed and treated, potentially transforming lives.
https://staging.bhfdatasciencecentre.org/projects/ccu084/
Developing data-driven trials in stroke medicine
Many important questions about stroke treatment still haven’t been tested in clinical trials. Making trials more cost-effective could help answer these questions and find better treatments for patients. Using routinely collected health data can make studies more efficient by measuring outcomes, identifying potential participants, and supporting innovative trial designs.
We’re working to use national stroke audit data in the UK to develop registry-based studies that can improve stroke research and patient care.
Using data science to improve quality of care after stroke
Improving care for people affected by stroke starts with understanding how many people are affected, the quality of care they receive, and their outcomes.
Stroke information is recorded in several datasets, including GP records, hospital admissions, and death records. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) collects detailed information on patients admitted to stroke units, offering insights not available in other NHS data. However, it may miss some people, such as those not admitted to hospital.
Our work will bring together multiple datasets to paint a more detailed picture of stroke care and outcomes, helping to identify where care can be improved.
Defining stroke
For effective data research into stroke, researchers need to know exactly how to define the condition. We’re working to develop these definitions so scientists can ask and answer the most important research questions as accurately as possible.