Coral Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida says AI technology has been helping its neurosurgeons speed up stroke care during "golden hour" — the first 60 minutes after a stroke in which clinicians have the greatest opportunity to restore blood flow and save brain tissue.
Baptist Health has been using the Viz.ai platform to help with diagnosis. The platform uses algorithms to analyze medical imaging data and has been able to accelerate diagnosis and treatment of stroke care for its patients, according to an Aug. 28 press release from the health system.
"Before, it would take 30 minutes or more for the neuroradiologist to thoroughly analyze the CT angiogram in order to determine if there was decreased blood flow in a particular part of the patient's brain. Now we get that information — and much more — in a matter of seconds," said Robert Wicks, MD, co-director of cerebrovascular surgery and director of the neuroendovascular surgery fellowship at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute.
The platform is also integrated into mobile phones, which gives clinicians access to 3D scans in high resolution. This allows them to see if there has been damage to the brain and where exactly it has occurred.
"It allows me to quickly determine if the patient requires immediate intervention," Dr. Wicks said.
The platform also facilitates communication among the health system's multidisciplinary team, allowing clinicians to communicate with those who may not be on-site.