Apollo Hospitals, Medtronic partner to advance stroke management using AI

By EH News Bureau On Oct 29, 2020

AI software to 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

Apollo Hospitals and India Medtronic will partner to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced stroke management for the first time in India. The US FDA approved AI platform for stroke diagnosis has been validated by clinical trials. The AI software will reportedly 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 stroke where every second counts.

Through this partnership, Medtronic will help in bringing in stroke technologies, technical expertise, training and comprehensive stroke management with the integration of AI platform at the Apollo Institute of Neurosciences at ten locations in Apollo Hospitals across the country, taking stroke management to the next level by standardising stroke diagnosis and empowering clinicians to make faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment decisions.

Reduction in diagnosis time from 60 mins to 2 mins has many patient benefits as the time saved is brain cells saved as every minute of delay leads to 2 million more brain cells dying. A stroke at odd hours of night will not result in the patient losing time for an expert review to begin treatment. Time between onset of stroke to treatment is significantly reduced which can help in improving outcome, reducing hospital stay and saving costs for the patient not just on hospitalisation but also on follow-up and rehabilitation.

Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “With this partnership, Apollo Hospitals continues to be the torchbearer in adoption of digital technology as one of the first hospital group in South Asia to use AI in an organised 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 definitely 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. It has helped to reduce the chances of errors in diagnostic processes and medical errors due to heavy caseloads.”

Madan Krishnan, Vice President, Medtronic Indian Subcontinent said, “Medtronic has been leading the fight against acute ischemic stroke (AIS) – enabling our physician partners with meaningful stroke technologies to empower their expertise. There is a huge unmet need with regards to stroke awareness and therapy in India. Medtronic has been partnering with hospitals to create centers of excellence in the country so that patients are identified faster, and they receive the best treatment. We are aiming to address the current treatment gaps in stroke with our innovative technologies, aiming at reducing door to needle time, thereby potentially improving outcomes for patients. Our partnership with Apollo Hospitals will further our goal of creating awareness and providing quicker access to quality healthcare for stroke patients in India.”

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. The stroke team will be able to remotely access the brain scans of stroke patients with the AI analysis on mobile app or email for faster decision making without losing time.

Other benefits include physicians being able to evaluate the patients remotely and visit in-person only when the AI analysis of the scans suggest indication for treatment. This will help to reduce unnecessary exposure in a COVID situation. The AI system will also generate a valid document proof to support the clinician’s decision taken on the course of treatment for a stroke patient.

The technology will increase utilisation of IV-tPA (intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke). It will also increase detection of LVO (large vessel occlusion) which accounts for up to 38 per cent of acute ischemic strokes and utilisation of mechanical thrombectomy (physical removal of the clot in the brain by a special device threaded through the blood vessels). The partnership will optimise stroke protocol and create a strong regional tele-stroke network with the power of AI.

The AI technology enabled advanced stroke management will be launched at the Apollo Institute of Neurosciences at Apollo Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru; Apollo Hospitals, Greams Road, Chennai; Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai; Apollo Hospitals, Ahmedabad; Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad; Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi; Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Jayanagar, Bengaluru; Apollo Hospitals, Sheshadripuram, Bengaluru; Apollo BGS Hospitals, Mysore; and Apollo Hospitals, Indore.

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