Australian breakthrough gives new hope for stroke sufferers

Australian researchers have developed a new stroke breakthrough that could be crucial in saving lives.

Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers, with one person suffering a stroke every 10 minutes.

But at the "code stroke" unit at Melbourne Hospital, doctors are now able to treat patients up to 24 hours after they've had a stroke.

Professor Peter Mitchell, Melbourne Hospital's neuro-intervention service director, was part of the team who helped change the way strokes can be treated worldwide.

The crucial change has been the development of a solitaire clot retrieval device.

The tiny tube is inserted through the groin, via a catheter.

It follows an artery up to the brain, where it arrives at the clot.

Doctors then pass an even finer catheter through the first, followed by a mechanical stent on a wire. which actually grabs hold of the clot.

"Once the clot is trapped, it's as simple as pulling the blockage from the body," Professor Mitchell said.

"We always had the belief that unblocking the blocked artery was the way to go. To actually get the hard evidence that proved that was so satisfying."