Medtronic and Viz.ai have announced they are extending their successful US partnership to distribute Viz.ai’s “lifesaving” artificial intelligence (AI) software platform for stroke to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The AI platform has been proven to synchronise stroke care, decrease time to treatment and improve patient outcomes, according to a Medtronic press release.
Viz.ai recently obtained a CE mark for its software, affirming its conformity with European health, safety, and environmental protection legislation, as well as with relevant requirements for products sold within the European Economic Area.
Viz.ai’s technology uses AI to identify suspected large vessel occlusion (LVO) strokes and automatically notify specialists. The software connects to hospital computed tomography (CT) scanners and alerts stroke specialists within minutes that a suspected LVO has been identified, sending the radiological images directly to their mobile phones where they can be viewed in-app. Viz.ai enables physicians to provide patients with the right level of care as quickly as possible, when time is brain.
“This partnership started with a vision of combining effective endovascular therapy with AI triggered workflow software to overcome barriers to care,” said Chris Mansi, CEO and co-founder of Viz.ai. “We knew that if we could get patients to therapy sooner, we could increase the chances of a disability-free outcome. Viz.ai’s cutting-edge technology contributes to patients getting treated as quickly as possible, and together with Medtronic we can ensure no LVO is left behind.”
Stroke is a serious and time-sensitive medical condition that requires emergency care, and can cause lasting brain damage, long-term disability and death. A stroke occurs if the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a portion of the brain is blocked, causing two million brain cells to die every minute.
In the European Union, stroke is the second most common cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability, but only an estimated 1.9% receive a potentially lifesaving, minimally-invasive endovascular procedure that removes blood clots. A Viz.ai study across 139 centres showed that, in 2,544 patients, its technology alerted the stroke specialist earlier than the standard of care, saving an average of 52 minutes.
“Viz.ai turns a serial process into a parallel process,” said Tudor G Jovin, director of the Cooper Neurological Institute in Cherry Hill, USA. “The mobile app cuts down on delays because everyone is working with the same critical patient information at the same time. This technology is the perfect complement to treatment protocols we already have in place to speed up stroke care.”
“From the start, our goal in partnering with Viz.ai was to bring this innovative technology into as many markets as possible,” said Joan Kristensen, senior director, Western Europe Commercial Neurovascular, Medtronic. “We have seen the impact Viz.ai has had in the USA and we are excited to see how they will continue to synchronise care in EMEA. Medtronic and Viz.ai are a culmination of one vision to drive a new systematic approach to care coordination. Medtronic may have the ability to influence the quality and speed of reperfusion, but with the help of Viz.ai, we can help to identify patients much sooner in order to receive the appropriate level of care.”
Through this agreement, Medtronic will distribute Viz.ai’s existing LVO, and intracerebral haemorrhage detection and triage software services, which are permitted for sale in the USA and CE-mark territories. This technology is currently implemented in more than 700 hospitals in the USA.
