SLO County hospitals use artificial intelligence to diagnose strokes: ‘Sky’s the limit’
Two San Luis Obispo County hospitals are using artificial intelligence to detect strokes, a move that makes treatment more efficient and could even save lives, according to a local physician.
“It’s helping us to reach our diagnosis faster,” Dr. Moussa Yazbeck, medical director of stroke programs at Tenet Health Central Coast, said. “It can give the providers, the physicians, nurses, more time to do what we are trained to do — being with the patient.”
The artificial intelligence, which lives in an application called Viz.ai, reads a patient’s CT scan results to identify signs of a stroke within minutes, Yazbeck said.
Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo and Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton launched the app on Feb. 6, according to Maria Irthum, neuroscience, stroke and spine Coordinator at Tenet Health Central Coast.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new technology.
How can artificial intelligence detect strokes?
Before Viz.ai was created, a physician would review their patient’s CT scan in their office, which would take about 20 minutes, Yazbeck said. Then they would individually call each medical professional working with the patient to decide on treatment.
Using artificial intelligence accelerates the diagnostic process.
The AI reads the patient’s CT scan, which Yazbeck called “fancy images of the brain” that show how and where the brain is receiving blood.
The AI searches for signs of a stroke in the images, and then notifies all medical professionals working with the patient about its results.
“Within a few minutes we have those images on our phone,” Yazbeck said.
A physician, such as a neurologist or a radiologist, then reviews the CT scan in the app to confirm the presence of a blood clot or other signs of a stroke, Yazbeck said.
Once the physician identifies the stroke and its cause, they can communicate “almost instantaneously” through the app and proceed with treating the patient, he said.
“This is an example of where we can use AI to our advantage in medicine,” Yazbeck said. “We can basically move things faster. We can expedite care and can save lives.”
Speed is a critical element in stroke treatment, according to Yazbeck.
When a stroke caused by a large blood clot goes untreated, a patient can lose 1.9 million neurons, 13.8 billion synapses, and seven miles of axonal fibers that carry nerve impulses each minute, according to a study published by the National Library of Medicine.
That damages brain functions, according to the study.
“You want to intervene with the brain as fast as possible, because with time we’re losing brain cells in the millions and trillions,” Yazbeck said. “The faster you access the patient or provide support and care for the patient, the better the outcome.”
The week Tenet Health Central Coast launched Viz.ai, Irthum said, a neurologist received a notification about his patient’s CT scan results through the app while he was shopping at the grocery store.
The physician reviewed the CT scan images on his phone, confirmed that his patient had suffered from a stroke, and dashed to the hospital to initiate treatment, Irthum said.
“They were able to immediately get that patient’s plan of care going,” Irthum said. “That was really exciting.”
Yazbeck doesn’t expect the AI to replace jobs for nurses and doctors, he said.
Instead, he expects medical professionals to collaborate with the technology to make medical care more efficient.
“(AI) can help humans focus on the right things,” Yazbeck said. “I can spend more time with the patient rather than in front of a computer, so I see it as a favorable thing if it’s used correctly.”
“Once you start using AI in medicine, the sky’s the limit,” Yazbeck said. “AI is going to change how we do things, and I see it as in a good way.”
How to tell you’re having a stroke
Stroke symptoms include weakness, numbness, vision loss and changes in mental status, according to Yazbek.
“If you have stroke symptoms, seek emergency medical care,” he said.
This story was originally published April 12, 2023 at 9:46 AM.
