Apollo Hospitals partners with Medtronic for advanced stroke management using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Apollo Hospitals Group partners with India Medtronic Private Limited to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced stroke management for the first time in India. The USFDA approved AI platform for stroke diagnosis has been validated by 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, thus 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 standardizing stroke diagnosis and empowering clinicians to make faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment decisions.

Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder and Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “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. 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. With this partnership, Apollo Hospitals continues to be the torchbearer in adoption of digital technology as one of the first hospital groups 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 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.”

Mr. 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 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.

Ms. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The Apollo Hospitals – Medtronic partnership will bring about a paradigm shift in acute stroke management, building and establishing a world-class stroke program with a uniform stroke protocol across the group. Trials have shown success in achieving substantially larger clinical benefits through the use of AI technology and the Apollo – Medtronic partnership will support early diagnosis and effective clinical decision in stroke patients leading to the shortest treatment time for better clinical outcomes. While early treatment leads to the best clinical outcome, a trial of stroke patients treated up to 6 to 24 hours with use of AI technology lead CTP or MRI scans showed better clinical outcomes for the patients. The partnership also envisages a structured training and education program to further improve the clinical efficiency of the Apollo stroke clinicians and support team.”

The Apollo Hospitals and Medtronic partnership to build comprehensive stroke management will lead to multiple patient benefits. The use of AI platform in stroke management will reduce diagnosis time from 60 mins to 2 mins. 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 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 hospitalization but also on follow-up and rehabilitation. Every patient will receive appropriate treatment as per the indication and not lose any treatment opportunity.

Ms. Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The Apollo Institute of Neurosciences has revolutionized high-end neurological care in the country. With a legacy of innovation and excellence, it has been working at the cutting-edge of neuro-imaging, neuro-intensive care and medical and radiation oncology services to deliver outcomes that match the leading neurology institutions in the world. A highly skilled multidisciplinary neurosciences team dedicates itself to enhancing patient care through cutting edge technology and the partnership with Medtronic will elevate the quality of stoke care with world-class AI-powered stroke treatment.”

Apollo Hospitals’ comprehensive stroke center equipped with 24/7 emergency, a team of specialized experts, CT, MRI facility, and capability of specialized surgical and interventional therapies will have treatment taken to the next level through AI. 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 the 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.