--- title: "Stanford Doctors Invent Device That Appears to Be Able to Save Tons of Stroke Patients Before They Die" description: "Researchers have developed a novel device that quite literally spins away the clots that block blood flow to the brain and cause strokes." date: "2025-06-15" modified: "2025-06-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/device-stroke-patients" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "blood clots" - "stanford" - "stroke" - "thrombectomy" --- # Stanford Doctors Invent Device That Appears to Be Able to Save Tons of Stroke Patients Before They Die ![Researchers have developed a novel device that quite literally spins away the clots that block blood flow to the brain and cause strokes.]() *\Image: Andrew Brodhead\* Researchers have developed a novel device that literally spins away the clots that block blood flow to the brain and cause strokes. As [Stanford explains]() in a blurb, the novel milli-spinner device may be able to save the lives of patients who experience "ischemic stroke" from brain stem clotting. Traditional clot removal, a process known as thrombectomy, generally uses a catheter that either vacuums up the blood blockage or uses a wire mesh to ensnare it — a procedure that's as rough and imprecise as it sounds. Conventional thrombectomy has a very low efficacy rate because of this imprecision, and the procedure can result in pieces of the clot breaking off and moving to more difficult-to-reach regions. Thrombectomy via milli-spinner also enters the brain with a catheter, but instead of using a normal vacuum device, it employs a spinning tube outfitted with fins and slits that can suck up the clot much more meticulously. Stanford neuroimaging expert Jeremy Heit, who also coauthored a new paper about the device [in the journal *Nature*](), explained in the school's press release that the efficacy of the milli-spinner is "unbelievable." "For most cases, we’re more than doubling the efficacy of current technology, and for the toughest clots — which we’re only removing about 11 percent of the time with current devices — we’re getting the artery open on the first try 90 percent of the time," Heit said. "This is a sea-change technology that will drastically improve our ability to help people." Renee Zhao, the senior author of the *Nature* paper who teaches mechanical engineering at Stanford and creates what she calls "millirobots," said that conventional thrombectomies just aren't cutting it. "With existing technology, there’s no way to reduce the size of the clot," Zhao said. "They rely on deforming and rupturing the clot to remove it." "What’s unique about the milli-spinner is that it applies compression and shear forces to shrink the entire clot," she continued, "dramatically reducing the volume without causing rupture." Indeed, as the team discovered, the device can cut and vacuum up to five percent of its original size. "It works so well, for a wide range of clot compositions and sizes," Zhao said. "Even for tough... clots, which are impossible to treat with current technologies, our milli-spinner can treat them using this simple yet powerful mechanics concept to densify the fibrin network and shrink the clot." Though its main experimental use case is brain clot removal, Zhao is excited about its other uses, too. "We’re exploring other biomedical applications for the milli-spinner design, and even possibilities beyond medicine," the engineer said. "There are some very exciting opportunities ahead." **More on brains:** [*The Microplastics in Your Brain May Be Causing Mental Health Issues*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()