The “Trial of Advanced CT Imaging and Combined Education Support for Drip & Ship (TACTICS)” stroke reperfusion trial is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funded trial which aims to improve access to stroke reperfusion therapies – intravenous stroke thrombolysis (IVT) and endovascular stroke therapy (EVT) – particularly in regional Australia.

The trial will evaluate the effectiveness of an education and training intervention supporting implementation of advanced acute stroke imaging, streamlined workflows and reperfusion pathways and protocols for reperfusion therapy delivery.

The TACTICS “support system” will enable the collaboration between comprehensive stroke centre (hub) and primary stroke centre (spoke) hospitals within the regional stroke care network’s using a stepped wedge cluster trial design. The trial utilises quality improvement methodologies and is based on the principles of the theoretical domains framework.

As part of this package, the TACTICS VR training tool has been developed and deployed. It is useful to a range of staff working in acute stroke care across emergency, neurology and radiology. In particular, the module is useful for junior medical officers and in training new and rotating staff for acute stroke care, to support optimal processing of an acute stroke patient entering the emergency department.

The VR training tool offers an immersive environment in which users are taken through a virtual stroke patient’s journey, with live-filming from experts, extensive assisted forensic collection of information, advanced imaging consultancy and treatment decision and support, as well as feedback on user performance to enhance their learning experience.

This TACTICS website has been developed to assist sites during their collaborative work within and beyond the life of the trial, particularly the use of the virtual reality acute stroke training module, which is relevant to anyone interested in acute stroke and patient flow criteria and processes.

If you would like to know more about the trial, please contact the trial program manager on TACTICS@georgeinstitute.org.au. For any questions relating to the TACTICS VR application specifically, please contact ATS@newcastle.edu.au