Apollo Hospitals join hands with Medtronic to launch advanced AI integrated stroke management

October 31, 2020 0 By FM

Apollo Hospitals Group has recently announced the partnership with India Medtronic Private Limited, to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced stroke management in India for the first time.

The USFDA approved AI platform for stroke diagnosis has been validated via clinical trials.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 stroke where every second counts.

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.

Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “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, and 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.”

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.”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,” Medtronic Indian Subcontinent Vice-President Madan Krishnan said.

Medtronic’s partnership with Apollo Hospitals will further its goal of creating awareness and providing quicker access to quality healthcare for stroke patients in India.

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.

With AI technology, stroke diagnosis will be standardized and scans will be available remotely within no time to the stroke physician. The technology will increase utilization 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% of acute ischemic strokes and utilization of mechanical thrombectomy (physical removal of the clot in the brain by a special device threaded through the blood vessels). The partnership will optimize stroke protocol and create a strong regional tele-stroke network with the power of AI, announced the company.

Through this partnership, the new AI integrated advanced platform for stroke management will be made available in Apollo Hospitals located across ten different sites in India. The technology 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.