SKYAID
New 
Mission
Overview   
Details    
Medical   
Watch   
Heart attack  
Stroke    
World health  
Emergency
Cost effective
Media 
- Site Map 

SKYCAR   
Details   
Overview  
VTOL   
Airline   
Military   
Transportation
Images 
- Site Map

Search

Translate 
  8 languages
 

Cost Effectiveness of Skyaid for Strokes updated 2/02/01

Some health improvements < $20 per DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Year) 
are funded by the country, by World Health Organization, by Gates Foundation, etc.

Example of low cost ways to save a DALY from above reference
   $12 Immunization
   $25 AIDS 
   $15-75 Family planning
   $ 1-25 Iodine, Vitamin A
   $ 1-55  STD antibiotic treatment
   $25 Stop smoking, alcohol, and other drug use

$3 for Skyaid Stroke is more cost effective than most health improvement programs for developing countries. 

• It appears the total subsidization of Skyaid Watch and Skyaid service to the people of a developing country would be more cost effective way of saving DALY than reducing AIDS, increasing family planning, immunization, etc. 

More expensive health improvements  $100 per DALY,  and >$100 per DALY are considered, but are often just too expensive to be funded by developing countries

[Notes] - - - - - - - 
N1 -  Lifetime cost of a stroke in US is $91,000 (ranges greatly with age). 
        This cost includes medical costs , lost wages, etc.

N2 - Assumes that medical, wages, and etc. costs are 10% of those in the US {range 5% to 40%]

N3 a) Skyaid Watch confirms stroke, even while person sleeps. 
            22%  {range from 5% to 50%}
     b) Fly victim quickly to a stroke center, improve outcome, 
            reverse damage, reduce mortality
     c) Stroke center costs amortized over 10x up to 100X more stroke patients with Skyaid

N4 - 700,000 strokes per  220 million  US population = rate of 0.3% {range from 0.07% to 7%}

N5 - Includes Skyaid Watch, communications service, Skycar Service, 
         $20 {range $10 to $100} but without free non-emergency voice-mail service of Skyaid Watch 

N6 - Similar at N5, but lower costs due to lower salaries in developing countries.  
          $4  {range $1 to $30}

N7- Worst case 128x 2.5 = $320, which accounts for almost worst cases: 
           N1 =4, N2 = 4, N3 = 2, N4 =4

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Some Stroke References  from Stroke- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Many strokes can be reversed if the victim gets to a Stroke center in the golden hour  Nov3, http://www.strokepreventionplus.com,  Reduces risk of disability by 30%, 

Just getting a victim to a stroke center (even after the golden hour) 
reduces chance of death by 40%, June 21 Issue of JAMA

Skyaid can apply mild hypothermia before getting to the hospital. 
1 degree cooling doubles the chance of a good outcome, Stroke Feb 2000, 

Stroke is very prevalent. 
Over a lifetime, four out of every five American families will be touched by a stroke
730,000 strokes annually in US of which 10-18% will experience another stroke within a year

A stroke center must to have a "stroke team" on call and an expensive MRI to eliminate the possibility that the stroke is hemorrhagic before applying the blood thinning tPA.  stroke chain of survival 

A good summary of the state of knowledge of stroke treatments is at Brain Attack  

There are lots of links to details at Stroke - Doctors Guide.

Very few US hospitals now have stroke centers.  Most hospitals have such small 'catchment areas" that they get about 1 stroke per week, making it not cost effective to create a stroke center or stroke team and have the essential MRI available 24 hours a day.  However, the American Stroke Association has set a goal to reduce death and disability from stroke by 25 percent by 2010

Much of the delay in getting to a stroke center results from delay in calling for emergency medical assistance
    1) Unsure that they are having a stroke
    2) Unaware that getting to a stroke center quickly will help.
The Skyaid Watch may assist in confirming that the wearer is indeed having a stroke, even if asleep. 
Strokes occur frequently during sleep.

See also Cost Effectiveness page in Skyaid