Nicolab recently announced a landmark partnership with Health New Zealand and the University of Otago (Wellington, New Zealand) to roll out its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered stroke imaging and workflow solution, StrokeViewer, across up to 30 hospitals nationwide.
This multicentre initiative—led by Anna Ranta (University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand)—will evaluate the impact of rapid, AI-assisted brain scan interpretation on stroke treatment rates and delays, with the goal of improving outcomes for thousands of New Zealanders each year. Funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the project directly supports the government’s vision for digital innovation in healthcare, as noted in a Nicolab press release.
This study will compare treatment rates and ‘door-to-treatment’ times before and after StrokeViewer implementation. Nicolab claims that, if successful, the project is expected to enable an additional 850 patients annually to access time-critical reperfusion therapy, with minimum short-term health sector savings of NZD$5 million and projected long-term societal savings of up to NZD$40 million per year.
The project is designed as a national, mixed-methods, pre- and post-implementation study. It will measure not only reductions in treatment delays and increases in intervention rates, but also feasibility, user acceptability, and cost implications. Nicolab states that the project places a strong emphasis on addressing inequities in stroke care, particularly for Māori and rural communities, by integrating AI decision support into acute stroke pathways to close these gaps and ensure equitable access to life-saving treatments across the country.
“For Nicolab, this project provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate the value of StrokeViewer in a real-world, national setting,” the release adds, also detailing that the project represents one of the largest evaluations of AI-assisted stroke care ever undertaken in New Zealand.
By embedding StrokeViewer into routine clinical practice across a diverse range of hospitals, the study will generate “robust evidence” on its impact at scale, with findings expected to directly inform the future design of New Zealand’s national stroke service and potentially set a precedent for other countries seeking to integrate AI into acute care pathways.
“This initiative is about more than technology—it’s about improving access to life-saving treatment for stroke patients across the country,” said Michael Macilquham, chief executive officer (CEO) at Nicolab. “The market is moving toward large-scale procurement of scalable, cloud-native solutions. Nicolab is well positioned to meet this challenge across New Zealand. We’re proud to partner with Health New Zealand and Professor Ranta’s team at the University of Otago on a project that has the potential to set a new benchmark for acute stroke care worldwide.”
