--- title: New Microwave Helmet Can Detect Strokes description: Scientists have invented a helmet that can detect the occurrence and type of a stroke by bouncing microwaves off the brain canonical: https://time.com/2889465/this-microwave-helmet-can-sense-strokes/ author: Mirren Gidda article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-17T14:09:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:58:14.151Z article:section: Health og:title: New Microwave Helmet Can Detect Strokes og:description: Scientists have invented a helmet that can detect the occurrence and type of a stroke by bouncing microwaves off the brain og:url: https://time.com/2889465/this-microwave-helmet-can-sense-strokes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf6a8334d7d83ffa/6986981306f2c105dd32f843/184978066.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1333 og:image:height: 750 og:image:alt: 184978066 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Microwave Helmet Can Detect Strokes twitter:description: Scientists have invented a helmet that can detect the occurrence and type of a stroke by bouncing microwaves off the brain twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf6a8334d7d83ffa/6986981306f2c105dd32f843/184978066.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Microwave Helmet Can Sense Strokes > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=05fda8b6-57a0-4734-b6ea-9765de97d61c&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Researchers: Microwave Helmet Senses Strokes [Watch (HLS stream): Researchers: Microwave Helmet Senses Strokes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6HI0fFWI.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2014-06-17. Swedish scientists have created a microwave helmet that can determine both whether a patient had a stroke and the underlying cause. Researchers say a faster diagnosis could save lives._ by [Mirren Gidda](https://time.com/author/mirren-gidda/) ## Mirren Gidda Jun 17, 2014 2:09 PM UTC by [Mirren Gidda](https://time.com/author/mirren-gidda/) ## Mirren Gidda Jun 17, 2014 2:09 PM UTC Scientists in Sweden have invented a helmet that can identify whether a person has experienced a stroke, the [BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27866391) reports. The headwear can further determine what kind of a stroke has occurred, allowing doctors to quickly diagnose and treat patients. The helmet works by bouncing microwaves off a person’s brain and identifying whether there’s a bleed or a clot within it. Initial tests, involving 45 patients, proved successful. The helmet’s inventors now plan to roll the device out to ambulance teams and eventually put the technology in pillows as well. At present, doctors treating stroke victims need to determine whether a clot or a leaking blood vessel caused the stroke. A CT scan is able to show this, but CT scanners aren’t available in every hospital and a scan can take time to set up. Delays in stroke treatment can be serious — brain tissue can begin to die if more than four hours passes between a stroke and treatment. The microwave helmet could reduce such delays, though researchers say more testing is required. Some doctors have suggested that the helmet won’t completely replace other forms of diagnosis. Dr. Shamim Quadir from the UK’s Stroke Association said that “while this research is at an early stage, microwave-based systems may become a portable, affordable, technology that could help rapidly identify the type of stroke a patient has had, and get them treated faster.” \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27866391)\] ## Transcript When doctors are caring for potential stroke victims, time is of the essence. Brain damage and even death are just a few of the many concerns surrounding such an event. Now Swedish scientists say they've developed a device that can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to detect and diagnose a stroke. It's called a microwave helmet, and it bounces microwaves off the brain to determine whether there has been a bleed or a clot deep inside, according to the BBC. In PR reports, the device has been named stroke finder. It looks a lot like a baseball helmet and consists of an array of 12 antennas arranged around the head. Each antennae beams a low power microwave signal through the skull and the other eleven detect how the signal is changed. The device then analyzes the microwave patterns to detect cranial bleeding. According to the CDC, strokes take the lives of nearly 130, 000 Americans every year. A writer for Time says doctors need to find the cause of a stroke as quickly as possible, because different causes require different treatments. Doctors typically use a CT scan to determine the cause, but when one isn't available or there isn't enough time, researchers say the microwave helmet could save time, or even lives. Plus, it's smaller and more portable. Researchers have successfully tested the helmet on 45 patients, and plan to give it to ambulance crews for further testing. 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