Sunday, March 13, 2011

STAT NIH Stroke scale app for Iphone - Free but buggy.

I just tested a free Iphone application called the STAT NIH stroke scale. The app is relatively easy to use and the interface is well designed. It is an almost exact reproduction of the pamphlet provided by the NIH. The test itself was designed to assess the level of impairment caused by a stroke and measures level of consciousness, vision, language, speech, movement and sensation. In my opinion, this is a great first version, however, a minor bug make this application unusable in the field. A small problem that could easily be fixed is in question 9 "best language". The patient in this question is required to describe a scene, but when we click on the image it opens in the wrong orientation. The app  provides a summary of the scores obtained and the clinician is required to provide an interpretation, something an app could easily be designed to do. While I'm sure future versions will correct this little bug, I am impressed by the amount of free apps generated by the group. - The app is now fixed.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for your review and comment on STAT NIH Stroke Scale. The app has been updated to version 1.1 and submitted to the App Store so it should be approved within the next few days. The picture orientation bug mentioned has been fixed. The total score at the end of the test is displayed at the top border of the screen above the individual section scores.

    The interpretation of the NIH Stroke Scale score is not included because official versions of the test including the NIH Stroke Scale booklet do not contain any guide to interpretation.

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  2. Hello and thank you for your update. I look forward to reviewing the new version and other products made by your organization.

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