ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- Rockford Health System is unveiling a new procedure that can help save victims of the third leading cause of death in America.

Each year strokes kill 160,000 Americans. Now, Rockford Health System is offering a new, minimally invasive procedure that stops brain aneurysms from rupturing, and strokes from occuring.

Instead of traditional surgery, a thin platinum wire is pushed into the aneurysm, forming a coil.

Blood clots around the coils and this reduces the aneurysm from bursting.

One doctor says Rockford Memorial is taking the right steps to offer the best possible treatment for its stroke patients.

"It is very important to... to be able to offer dual therapy and these days it is less and less common that hospitals only offer one," said Bratislav Velimirovic M.D., Ph.D.

So far the procedure has been used on a couple dozen people, and recovery time for them has been a lot faster than traditional surgery.