Novant Health implements tech to speed stroke diagnosis

Winston Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health is using artificial intelligence-powered technology from Viz.AI to help physicians identify and treat acute ischemic strokes more quickly, according to local CBS affiliate WBTV.

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The technology helps identify when a patient has a large vessel occlusion, which is when a blood clot blocks the blood flow in a large vessel that goes directly to the brain, according to the report. While it’s possible to remove the blood clot associated with this type of stroke, physicians must act within a specific time frame to prevent irreversible brain damage.

Prior to implementing Viz.AI, diagnosing a patient with LVO took approximately 30 minutes, Laurie McWilliams, MD, neurointensivist at Novant Health, told WBTV. With the technology, the process has been decreased to 10 minutes, Dr. McWilliams said.

Viz.AI gathers results of a stroke patient’s CT scan and sends them directly to the Novant Health stroke team’s smartphones, eliminating time spent on briefing other physicians on the results. Viz.AI also uses an algorithm to scan the CT results and detect a change in blood flow, indicating an LVO. An alarm is then sent directly to the physician’s smartphone. 

More articles on artificial intelligence:
Amazon’s Textract data extraction tool now HIPAA-eligible
UCSF to launch AI center for radiology technology  
VUMC researchers use AI to detect heart disease phenotypes

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