Doctors in England have used a tool powered by artificial intelligence to determine how best to treat 60,000 stroke patients since it was rolled out last summer. As a result, the proportion of those receiving thrombolysis, a blood clot-dissolving drug, has increased by 0.7%.
Almost exactly a year ago, England’s National Health Service (NHS) announced it had provided all its 107 stroke units with an AI tool that analyses brain CT scans, determines the severity of the patient’s condition, and advises doctors whether to use drugs or perform an emergency surgery called mechanical thrombectomy.
How AI is transforming stroke care
A stroke occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is blocked or a blood vessel in the brain bursts, damaging brain cells. If not treated quickly and appropriately, a patient can suffer permanent disability, such as paralysis, memory loss, or communication issues — or die.
Determining the best course of action requires analysing the patient’s brain scans, a task only specialists can perform, often delaying timely treatment. The new AI tool can detect subtle patterns in scans and quickly transfer images and interpretations between clinicians, reducing the time between hospital admission and treatment by more than an hour.
Faster response, better recovery rates
The NHS reports that this faster response could have tripled the proportion of patients who recover without disability. Nearly half of all stroke survivors in England can now return to normal life.
Strokes remain the fourth-leading cause of death in the UK, with about 38,000 stroke-related deaths each year. The NHS said the technology could be responsible for saving thousands of lives.
“This AI decision support technology is revolutionising how we help people who have been affected by a stroke,” David Hargroves, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Stroke, said in a statement from NHS England. “It is estimated a patient loses around two million brain cells a minute at the start of a stroke, which is why rapid diagnosis and treatment is so critical.
“AI decision support software provides real-time interpretation of patients’ brain scans – supporting expert doctors and other NHS staff to make faster treatment decisions. NHS stroke teams have been leading the way in rolling out AI, and with every stroke centre now using the technology, it is already playing a key role in improving the care of thousands of people in England every year.”
Other AI-related technologies the NHS is rolling out include an AI test for prostate cancer. The service is also supporting clinical trials of Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip for the treatment of neurological disorders.
Despite shortening appointment times and increasing patient throughput, some AI transcription solutions being deployed in the NHS fail to meet its safety criteria.