Use of AI technology helped triple patient stroke recovery in England

The Brainomix e-Stroke tool has increased stroke recovery figures from 16% to 48%.

In addition to improved recovery outcomes, the early-stage analysis of the technology has also shown it helped reduce the time between the stroke and treatment by more than 60 minutes, according to the National Health Service (NHS).

By tripling the number of patients who recovered with no or slight disability – in what is defined as functional independence – the technology demonstrates that every minute counts in one of the most time-sensitive diagnoses in medicine.

“Every minute saved during the initial hospital assessment of people with stroke-like symptoms can dramatically improve a patient’s chance of leaving hospital in good health,” said Dr. Timothy Ferris, director of transformation at NHS England.

More than 111,000 suspected stroke patients benefited from the Brainomix e-Stroke technology that was deployed across five stroke networks in England, the NHS said.

Teaching assistant and grandmother Carol Wilson was one of them. After getting up for a normal day in June 2021, she suffered from intense cramps and rapidly lost sight, as well as the use of her limbs.

With the help of the Brainomix e-Stroke tool, she was quickly diagnosed with a blood clot on her brain and recommended a thrombectomy by her consultant in the hospital. She is now back at work.

“This technology is just amazing. I was able to sit up and text my family later that day and was back at home and able to walk around two days after having a stroke,” Wilson said.

“I often think about how lucky I am to have made the recovery I have – to be able to go back to work and spend time with my grandchildren – especially when you consider not everyone who has a stroke has such a good outcome,” she added.

The Brainomix e-Stroke system was developed in the UK and uses AI algorithms to interpret patient brain scans. It provides real-time decision support to doctors and allows stroke specialists to access scans and images remotely, making their time more efficient.

According to the NHS, 85,000 people suffer from strokes annually in England.