Ipswich Hospital advances stroke care thanks to tech partnership

Ipswich Hospital has seen benefits to its stroke pathway thanks to a strategic tech partnership between Visionable and AI-powered medtech solutions company Brainomix.

The partnership is combining Visionable’s virtual healthcare collaboration platform with Brainomix’s e-Stroke imaging software. The collaboration is saving time, reducing clinicians’ workload and supporting improved outcomes for patients.

The benefit of combining these two technologies has already been felt at Ipswich Hospital.

Recent performance metrics have confirmed that Ipswich Hospital is delivering best-in-class service. The number of patients being assessed by a stroke consultant within 24-hours is above the national average (90.4% vs 82.9%).

Dr Sajid Alam, stroke consultant at Ipswich Hospital, said: “As a district general hospital, we don’t have ready access to dedicated neuroradiologists to interpret every stroke scan. Having the AI software gives us more confidence when interpreting each scan.”

Patients attending Ipswich Hospital who are eligible for a mechanical thrombectomy are then transferred to the Royal London Hospital (RLH), a stroke centre that serves as a supraregional thrombectomy hub for Ipswich.

Alam continued: “In stroke, time is critical. Using e-Stroke saves precious minutes, as the scans are immediately available for viewing on the Brainomix web portal. With RLH also using e-Stroke, we can communicate instantly, share images and make transfer decisions without delay.”

The time for an assessment to take place from admission is less than half the national average – four hours 20 minutes compared to nine hours 53 minutes nationally.

Rob Hughes, chief commercial officer at Visionable, said: “Combined, our complementary solutions have resulted in quicker delivery of care, instant access to rich data and improved patient outcomes – all while boosting job satisfaction for clinicians.”

The Royal Berkshire Hospital deployed the Brainomix AI software in its emergency department in 2020 to support clinicians in making quick stroke diagnoses.

Riaz Rahman, VP healthcare global at Brainomix, added: “The strength of combining the proven technologies of Visionable and Brainomix means easy and instantaneous access to rich critical clinical information across the pre-acute and intra-hospital phases of stroke care.

“Our joint approach will tackle head-on many of the known systems bottlenecks where multiple stroke centres are involved in a highly time-sensitive pathway.”