The Stanford Stroke Center, one of the first comprehensive multidisciplinary centers of its kind, was established in 1992 to develop new approaches to diagnose and treat stroke. The mission of the Stroke Center is to be the best comprehensive organization in the United States focused on stroke diagnosis, treatment, research, and education. In 1992, the Center was established by a team of neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, nurse specialists, basic scientists, and clinical researchers. This multi-disciplinary team has met regularly to continually refine the program for 25 years. In 2012, the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association announced that the Stanford Stroke Center was the first hospital in the United States to meet The Joint Commission's standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification. Stanford was chosen to be one of the original StrokeNet Regional Coordinating Centers (RCCs). During the initial grant period, Stanford developed the DEFUSE 3 study, which became the first clinical trial to be funded and executed by StrokeNet. This 40-site trial has been extremely successful; enrollment rates were substantially ahead of projected targets and the trial was stopped early by the DSMB because of a high probability of efficacy in the endovascular group. Stanford's regional network is one of the highest enrollers in StrokeNet studies and Stanford faculty have made major contributions to key StrokeNet committees. The Stanford-RCC will continue to provide high volume enrollment of diverse patient populations into NINDS funded stroke trials. The Stanford RCC will also continue to offer an innovative multidisciplinary fellowship program that provides comprehensive training in clinical trial design, implementation and analysis. In addition, Stanford faculty members will continue to propose new clinical trials for implementation through StrokeNet.
The Stanford Stroke Center has developed a comprehensive stroke network consisting of 6 comprehensive stroke centers that provide a high volume of patient enrollment into NINDS funded stroke trials. Our StrokeNet fellowship program provides comprehensive training in clinical trial design, implementation and analysis. In addition, Stanford faculty members propose new clinical trials for implementation through the NINDS Stroke Network.
