New AI stroke brain scan readings are twice as accurate as current method  

New AI software can read the brain scans of patients who have had a stroke, to more accurately pinpoint when it happened and help doctors work out whether it can be successfully treated.

It is hoped that the new technology will ultimately enable faster and more accurate emergency treatment of patients in a hospital setting. Knowing the time the stroke started is important because standard treatments only work in the very early stages post-stroke – and may otherwise cause secondary damage.

The software, devised by researchers from Imperial College London, Technical University of Munich, and Edinburgh University, addresses two of the most difficult challenges in assessing stroke patients – identifying the onset time of the stroke and whether the damage can be reversed. The software has been found to be twice as accurate as the current method – a visual assessment of the scan by a medical professional, who considers how dark a stroke area appears on CT scans of the brain.

 A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is blocked or reduced, preventing brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients. Brain cells then start to die quickly.  

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