McLaren Health Care expanded its statewide McLaren Stroke Network through the addition of leading-edge technology that results in quicker, time-critical treatment decisions for stroke care. RapidAI applies artificial intelligence to advanced imaging to analyze clinical data, expedite clinical decisions and connect the care team on a single, FDA-approved and HIPAA-compliant platform.
Already the largest stroke program in the state, the addition of this AI technology adds to the program’s care capabilities, which has already garnered recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and The Joint Commission.
“Time is critical during a stroke, and the sooner we, the physicians, receive the information we need to make a thorough diagnosis, the sooner we can activate a care plan and increase the patients’ chances of achieving an enhanced clinical outcome,” said Dr. Aniel Majjhoo, interventional neurologist and neurosciences medical director at McLaren Health Care. “Adding this platform is a significant advancement to our program — one with the capacity to save our patients from the potentially devastating effects of stroke.”
The technology is capable of recommending which stroke patients should undergo a thrombectomy, the procedure in which the interventional neurologist tunnels a catheter from the groin to the brain in order to remove the stroke-causing clot restricting blood flow in the brain.
With the technology’s capabilities validated by several major clinical trials, adding the platform improves the McLaren Stroke Network’s clinical decision time and time to patient treatment, metrics that already best national benchmarks.
All Michigan-based McLaren hospitals are part of the system’s Stroke Network. Through its use of telemedicine technology, every suspected stroke patient is evaluated by an interventional neurologist with extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke — the only program of its kind in the state — aiding in the development and execution of a potentially lifesaving care plan.
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. With hypertension — high blood pressure, a main risk factor for stroke — on the rise, the risk for stroke is increasing.
Learn more about the recognitions and capabilities of the McLaren Stroke Network, and how to spot the signs of stroke in yourself or a loved one, at mclaren.org/stroke.
About McLaren Health Care
McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a $6 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 15 hospitals in Michigan and Ohio, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 490-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 588,000 lives in Michigan and Indiana, home health, infusion and hospice providers, pharmacy services, a clinical laboratory network and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of only 51 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S. McLaren has 28,000 full-, part-time and contracted employees and more than 90,000 network providers throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Learn more at mclaren.org.