Southern Trust to use artificial intelligence for stroke patients as part of regional pilot

Known as 'Rapid AI', the groundbreaking technology has already been used throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, but was first introduced to Northern Ireland by the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

However, as part of a regional pilot, it is now being used in other hospitals including Craigavon Area and Daisy Hill.

The Southern Trust has a multidisciplinary team in relation to support diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of stroke patients across hospital and community services.

Dr Patricia McCaffrey, Divisional Medical Director of Older People Services, acknowledged that the technology can help patients receive hyper acute treatments sooner.

She explained: “Thrombectomy and thrombolysis treatments can restore blood flow and significantly reduce the severity of disability from stroke. About 15% of patients with stroke are eligible for the clot busting drug thrombolysis.

"Latest guidance recommends that treatment is started as soon as possible within 4.5 hours of onset of symptoms and in some circumstances, it can be of benefit within six hours. Around one in 10 patients are suitable for thrombectomy clot removal which can be performed within a longer timeframe, with some patients being eligible up to 24 hours.

“Identifying appropriate treatments for those patients who arrive with us outside of the typical time window requires advanced imaging which previously involved a transfer to the Royal Victoria Hospital. Now Rapid AI aids us with this diagnosis locally, helping us to identify more patients who may benefit from these hyper acute treatments.”

Trudy Reid, Director of Medicine and Unscheduled Care for the Southern Health Trust added that the technology "enhances overall patient experience".

She said: “With the expert support of our CT scanning team, we are delighted to now offer this very latest technology which will help to improve patient safety by assisting specialist stroke colleagues to give a quicker, more precise diagnosis, enhancing overall patient experience.

“It is absolutely vital to phone 999 in the first instance if you or someone else is showing stroke symptoms, to ensure timely access to appropriate treatment.”