Methinks has announced the launch of Neuro-rescue—a project leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and telemedicine to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions in patients presenting at non-specialised emergency departments.
Backed by €2.19 million in recently secured funding from the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) under its Public-Private Collaboration (CPP) 2024 programme, the initiative brings together a leading consortium including Methinks, Atrys Health, Fundación Vithas and Fundació Món Clínic.
The project aims to ensure that patients in general emergency settings—as opposed to in specialised units—can be rapidly assessed and referred for lifesaving treatment when an undetected neurological condition is suspected, according to a Methinks press release.
The release states that the “core” of Neuro-rescue is “a simple but powerful idea”: leveraging the most widely available imaging tool in emergency medicine—non-contrast head computed tomography (CT) scans—to detect critical neurological conditions earlier and at scale.
“We know that there are many people living with undiagnosed intracranial aneurysms and other treatable neurological conditions,” said Víctor Salvia, vice president of research and development (R&D) at Methinks. “The opportunity lies in the fact that non-contrast CT scans are already performed in virtually every hospital. If we can detect subtle signs in these images, we can enable systematic, large-scale detection and referral.”
The platform in question integrates advanced AI algorithms developed by Methinks that are capable of automatically analysing non-contrast CT scans to identify intracranial aneurysms, vessel occlusions, and intracranial haemorrhages, as well as other treatable neurological conditions. This will be validated in real-world clinical environments through the participation of Fundación Vithas and Fundació Món Clínic, and integrated into Atrys’ telemedicine infrastructure.
“At Atrys, we are committed to making specialised clinical expertise available wherever patients need it, regardless of the resources of the hospital treating them,” said Facundo Nahuel, head of AI in the teleradiology department at Atrys. “By combining AI with telemedicine, we can optimise hospital resources, support non-specialised emergency teams, and facilitate the early detection of treatable neurological conditions, sometimes even before symptoms become clinically evident. Initiatives such as Neuro-rescue broaden access to advanced neurological diagnosis and help ensure that more patients receive expert evaluation at the right time.”
“As a leading hospital group in Spain, Vithas is committed to delivering a consistent standard of quality and safety across all our centres,” added David Baulenas, corporate director of healthcare, quality and innovation at Vithas and vice president of Fundación Vithas. “The integration of tools that help identify treatable conditions which may otherwise go unnoticed on emergency CT scans enhances detection and reduces clinical variability.”
The Vithas Group is implementing the Neuro-rescue project in four of its 22 hospitals.
Methinks’ recent press release notes that this project has the potential to “shift neurological care toward prevention”—particularly in conditions like intracranial aneurysms, which often remain undetected until a rupture occurs.
“In many patients with cerebral aneurysms, diagnosis comes too late,” explained Xabier Urra (Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain). “The non-contrast CT scan is the most common imaging test in emergency departments, and that is precisely where Neuro-rescue intervenes, flagging suspicious findings and accelerating the diagnostic pathway. Detecting an aneurysm in time opens the door to preventive, personalised management instead of facing a potentially devastating subarachnoid haemorrhage.”
Methinks further claims that, by extending advanced assessment capabilities beyond specialised centres, Neuro-rescue is poised to deliver significant system-wide benefits, including: democratised access to high-quality neurological diagnosis regardless of hospital resources or location; improved patient quality of life and outcomes driven by faster detection and treatment; and more efficient healthcare systems, leveraging remote expertise and reducing reliance on onsite specialists.
Final results from the project are expected in the second half of 2028.
