Stroke centres in England given AItoolthat will help 5o% ofpatients recover
NHS equips all centres with life-saving software that willincrease number of patients avoiding serious disability
*The system enables doctors to shorten the average time between patients arriving at hospital
and starting treatment by one hour. Photograph: Don Fritz/Shutterstock
Half of all people who experience a stroke in England will now recoverthanks to a revolutionary Al scanning system that increases the number of patients avoiding serious disability.
The NHS has equipped every stroke centre in England with life-savingsoftware that quickly tells doctors if they need to perform emergencysurgery and can triple the rate of recovery.
The world-frst technology analyses brain CT scans of stroke patients arrivingat hospital, taking just a minute to identify the type and severity of strokeand the most appropriate treatment.
It means doctors can then offer drugs or surgery much more quickly, withthe system shortening the average time between patients arriving at hospitaland starting treatment by one hour - from 140 minutes to 79 minutes.
Quicker treatment means the proportion of patients recovering with no oronly slight disability - defned as achieving functional independence - hastripled from 16% to 48% in NHS pilots of the system.
Now the tool has been introduced at all 107 stroke centres, and couldtransform the care of the 80,000 people who have a stroke in England eachyear. The announcement came on the fnal day of the European Society of Cardiology congress in Madrid, the world's largest heart conference.David Hargroves, the NHS national clinical director for stroke, said: “This Aldecision support technology is revolutionising how we help people who havebeen affected by a stroke.
“It is estimated a patient loses around 2m brain cells a minute at the start of astroke, which is why rapid diagnosis and treatment is so critical. Al decisionsupport software provides real-time interpretation of patients’ brain scans -supporting expert doctors and other NHS staff to make faster treatmentdecisions.
“NHS stroke teams have been leading the way in rolling out Al, and withevery stroke centre now using the technology, it is already playing a key rolein improving the care of thousands of people in England every year.
Rapid intervention is vital if a stroke is suspected, Blood supply to part of thebrain is blocked during a stroke and if not treated quickly it can be fatal orcause permanent, long-term disabilities, such as paralysis, memory loss andcommunication issues.
But it can be difcult to know whether patients need an operation or drugs.because the interpretation of brain scans is complicated and
specialistdoctors are required. The Al system is able to recognise patterns in brainscans that human eyes cannot see, removing uncertainty and delays intreatment.
Meanwhile, at the conference in Madrid, a study revealed how living on anoisy road can increase the risk of stroke even when there is a
minimalamount of pollution.
“These fndings highlight the need to address trafic noise as part of publichealth interventions to reduce the stroke burden. This isn't about brief loudevents; it's the chronic day-evening-night noise that disrupts sleep andactivates stress pathways.