Hospital leads way in using AI to help patients

Hereford County Hospital is the first in the region to roll out the software

A hospital has introduced a new artificial intelligence system to help doctors treat stroke patients.

The RapidAI software was recently used for the first time at Hereford County Hospital.

It analyses patients' brain images to help decide whether they need an operation or drugs to remove a blood clot.

Wye Valley NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, is the first in the West Midlands to roll out the software.

Jenny Vernel, senior radiographer at the trust, said: “AI will never replace the clinical expertise that our doctors and consultants have.

"But harnessing this latest technology is allowing us to make very quick decisions based on the experiences of thousands of other stroke patients.”

'Highlights haemorrhages'

She said the software automatically identifies the presence of large vessel occlusions – a blockage in one of the brain’s main arteries.

It is also able to highlight any possible intracranial haemorrhages (areas of bleeding).

The software gives a rating used to determine critical changes in the level of blood flow on CT brain scans.

The results and images are made available to the trust as well as to the stroke team and neuroradiologists in Birmingham.

They are then assessed by staff before a decision is made on how a stroke patient should be treated.

Radiographer Thomas Blackman told BBC Hereford and Worcester that it usually takes half an hour for the information to be communicated.

He said the new AI-powered system now means it is "pinged" to the relevant teams' phones via an app in a matter of minutes.

"It's improved the patient pathway a lot," he added.