Every year on October 29, the world observes World Stroke Day, raising awareness about stroke prevention, treatment and the importance of taking quick action. Strokes are one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, affecting millions of people each year. The theme of World Stroke Day often centers on the message of “time is brain,” emphasizing the critical need for rapid response when someone experiences a stroke. Every second counts because the faster a patient receives medical treatment, the greater the chance of minimizing long-term damage.
As technology evolves, AI is emerging as a powerful tool that has the potential to revolutionize stroke care. From triage and prioritization of suspected strokes to aiding in quicker, more effective treatment, AI can play a transformative role in saving lives.
The Impact of Stroke: Why Quick Action Matters
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted, either by a blockage (ischemic stroke) or a burst blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). Without oxygen, brain cells quickly begin to die. The window for the most effective treatment is extremely short – just a few hours.
Every year, around 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke, with five million dying and another five million left permanently disabled. The key to improving these outcomes lies in speed–diagnosing the stroke and delivering treatment rapidly to restore blood flow and limit brain damage. This is where AI can make a life-saving difference.
How Aidoc’s Stroke Solution is Making an Impact
1. Full Brain AI
In patients experiencing a medium vessel and/or posterior circulation stroke, they may present with less severe or obvious symptoms and suffer from delayed diagnosis and treatment. Current research supports posterior strokes making up 20% of all ischemic strokes and include a staggering 20-60% miss rate.
Aidoc’s Full Brain AI Solution is designed to expand disease awareness of ischemic stroke by offering clinical modules for all vessel occlusions (anterior and posterior occlusions, LVO plus MeVO) and CT perfusion. “Aidoc’s Full Brain Solution broadens AI advancements to benefit a significantly larger patient population, leading to improved care and ultimately better patient outcomes,” said Brian Mason, MD, Associate Professor of NeuroEndovascular Surgery at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
2. Proven Significant Time Savings in Clinical Setting
Time is the most critical factor in stroke therapy, and AI can dramatically reduce time to treatment. Traditional methods of diagnosing a stroke, such as MRI or CT scans, are often time-consuming and reliant on the availability of specialty physicians.
In a recent abstract presented at the SNIS Annual Meeting, Aidoc’s Stroke Solution showed measurable outcomes by reducing door to puncture (DTP) and door-to-CT times. Post-implementation of Aidoc’s stroke solution and upon conclusion of the workflow optimization project, Ochsner LSU experienced a 34% reduction in DTP for their stroke patients, equivalent to 38 minutes. They also experienced a 24% reduction in door-to-CT time of seven minutes. This outcome suggests that differences in workflow efficiency, coupled with AI capabilities, can contribute to significant improvements between vendor solutions.
Once a stroke has been diagnosed, healthcare providers must make critical decisions about how to treat the patient. For ischemic strokes, thrombolysis (clot-busting drugs) or mechanical thrombectomy (clot removal via surgery) may be required, but both have time-sensitive windows for maximum effectiveness.
Aidoc’s care coordination facilitates rapid team activation and communication of patients with suspected stroke*, alerting appropriately trained medical specialists and speeding access to lifesaving treatment. Aidoc is “always on” running behind the scenes, with no requirement for physician activation. Suspected stroke patients are automatically flagged after the scan is performed and an alert is sent simultaneously to all relevant team members, including neurologists, neurointerventionalists, radiologists and ED physicians.
Once the teams are alerted, the solution enables real-time image, data and test sharing, leading to improved patient management and care coordination. Aidoc fully supports spoke to hub mobile sharing workflows and dynamically integrates EHR data natively into the app, including patient info, trending vitals, labs, clinical exams, medications, etc. Aidoc’s care coordination solutions offer comprehensive integrations into the clinical workflow.
AI and the Future of Stroke Care
While AI’s potential in stroke care is already evident, its future is even more promising. Ongoing research is exploring how AI can further improve outcomes by enhancing prediction models, expanding access to care and improving personalized care.
World Stroke Day serves as an important reminder of the devastating effects of stroke and the need for fast, efficient medical care. With the integration of AI into the healthcare system, we are witnessing a new era of stroke care, one where rapid diagnosis, personalized treatments, and enhanced accessibility are within reach for more patients than ever before.
This World Stroke Day, let’s recognize the power of AI in accelerating stroke care and commit to supporting innovations that can transform healthcare for the better. After all, when it comes to stroke, every second—and every technological advancement—counts.
Click here to learn more about Aidoc’s Neuro Solutions.
*Stroke workflow is activated by Aidoc’s AI solutions for VO & ICH
