Jaclyn Boorman, director of regional brain health and rehabilitation services at Island Health, says conducting a medical imaging scan on a stroke victim as soon as possible is paramount as patients can lose millions of nerve cells in the brain every minute they remain untreated.

B次元官网网址淏rain cells die very, very quickly," she said in a news release. B次元官网网址淵ou need to get those images back to the right people as soon as possible. And then, if appropriate, they need treatment as soon as possible, which in some cases means a transfer to another centre. You just need everything to be as fast and seamless as possible.B次元官网网址�

Since August 2023, acute stroke patients throughout the Island Health region have benefited from artificial intelligence-enhanced visualization software that enables specialists to assess and act more quickly, which they say is a vital innovation.

Ischemic strokes, which occur when a clot prevents blood flow to an area of the brain, are the most common strokes assessed with the AI technology, but it's also sometimes used for hemorrhagic strokes, which involve bleeding in the brain due to a ruptured blood vessel.

The province estimates there are about 4,900 hospitalized cases of stroke in B.C. on an annual basis, with about a 13 per cent mortality rate in prevalent cases.

Currently, AI is used for patients who present to hospitals in Victoria, Nanaimo, Campbell River and Comox Valley, who then feed information to the Victoria-based stroke neurology team.

B次元官网网址淸The AI-enhanced process has] flagged for us the patients who are urgent and who require attention right away,B次元官网网址� noted Dr. Janka Hegedus, medical lead of neurology stroke on the Island. B次元官网网址淭hat can be quite difficult when youB次元官网网址檙e taking care of a very diverse and very distributed population. So I think that itB次元官网网址檚 really important to help us triage and help people quickly.B次元官网网址�

If itB次元官网网址檚 deemed that the stroke is treatable, the patient is transferred to Victoria as soon as possible.

B次元官网网址淚t detects if there is brain that can be saved,B次元官网网址� said Hegedus in the release. B次元官网网址淪o it measures for us how big the core is B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 the part of the brain that canB次元官网网址檛 be saved. And thatB次元官网网址檚 really important for us because if thereB次元官网网址檚 a big core and no area to save, then we wonB次元官网网址檛 take a person out of their community when there is no need or intervention to offer.B次元官网网址� 

Today, the use of AI in stroke care is rapidly becoming a best practice at Island Health and elsewhere in Canada and beyond.

B次元官网网址淥ur whole community is really evolving with it,B次元官网网址� noted Hegedus. B次元官网网址淚 think thatB次元官网网址檚 a real positive B次元官网网址� we can evolve and we can also give feedback when we need things to be changed.B次元官网网址�