Hospital Introduces India’s First Advanced Stroke Management Using Artificial Intelligence

Apollo Hospitals Group today announced a partnership with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medtronic, to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced stroke management for the first time in India.

The AI software will provide automated analysis in less than two minutes as against currently accepted imaging practices for diagnosis of stroke that takes up to one hour to complete, enabling faster decision making in the stroke where every second count. The collaboration is viewed as an opening to the world of stroke technologies, technical expertise, training, and comprehensive stroke management with the integration of AI platform in the hospital.

The Emerging Role Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Healthcare

Reports point out the increasing role of AI in the medical field, stressing on the fact that this technological innovation is becoming a go-to technology for building custom healthcare software to diagnose a wide range of diseases, from diabetic retinopathy to skin cancer [1].

AI mimics the human cognitive functions, bringing forth a new sense of development in the healthcare field, powered by the increasing availability of healthcare data and rampant progress of analytics techniques.

Simply put, AI simplifies the lives of patients, doctors, and hospital administrators by performing tasks that are typically done by humans, but in less time and lesser expense. AI technology stands out from the traditional technology in several ways. It has been adopted in the fields of Radiology, screening, psychiatry, primary care, disease diagnosis, telehealth, electronic health records, drug interactions and creation of new drugs [2].

With innovations around the globe, the propensity of AI to stand out has been evident; the new fields of healthcare adopting the technologies are reflections of this. The recent field of healthcare that AI has been adopted is stroke-prevention and care [3].

Artificial Intelligence (AI) For Stroke Management

Up to 80 per cent of the stroke cases are preventable [4]. As stated by Dr Prathap C Reddy of Apollo Hospitals Groups, stroke is a major global public health problem with 1 in 4 people over the age of 25 years suffering a stroke during their lifetime, according to data from the World Stroke Organization. The fourth leading cause of death today, around 1.8 million people in India suffer from a stroke every year, and it is only early treatment that can reduce morbidity and mortality.

The AI platform uses artificial intelligence to create high quality, advanced images from non-contrast CT, CT angiography, CT perfusion, and MRI diffusion and perfusion scans, helping hospitals to improve time-critical triage or transfer decisions and facilitate better patient outcomes.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the treatment and management of stroke using digital technologies. Today, AI platforms are improving patient care and outcomes every day. The doctor continued, "At Apollo Hospitals, we are proud to be at the forefront of the AI revolution in healthcare. This partnership brings together Apollo Hospitals' clinical expertise, AI platform and stroke technologies from Medtronic to transform stroke treatment in the country."

Apollo Hospitals Introduces India's First Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stroke Management

With this partnership, Apollo Hospitals continues to be the torchbearer in the adoption of digital technology as one of the first hospital group in South Asia to use AI in an organized and scalable manner for comprehensive stroke management.

Also, with the introduction of 640 slice CT Scan having a capability of doing cerebral angiogram, the patient will gain by means of advanced technical adaptations in stroke treatment. AI has been a boon for the healthcare industry and has transformed many different aspects from drug development to diagnostics and clinical medicine and surgery.

It has simplified the lives of patients, doctors, and hospital administrators, taking over tasks that are routine, saving time and costs, freeing the doctors to give more time to their patients. AI has helped to reduce the chances of errors in diagnostic processes and medical errors due to heavy caseloads.

On A Final Note...

The Apollo Hospitals - Medtronic partnership will bring about a paradigm shift in acute stroke management, building and establishing a world-class stroke program with uniform stroke protocol across the group. Trials have shown success in achieving substantially larger clinical benefits through the use of AI technology.