I wrote recently about Israeli startup MedyMatch after they teamed up with IBM Watson.  The partnership will initially revolve around intracranial hemorrhage detection, with IBM integrating MedyMatch’s technology into their healthcare offering to help clinicians better detect intracranial bleeding after strokes or head trauma.

The company has been busy on the partnership front, with a second deal announced with Samsung NeuroLogica to integrate AI clinical decision support services into Samsung’s medical imaging hardware.  The hope is that the partnership will enable caregivers to quickly and accurately assess patients in prehospital environments.

Assessing strokes

The partnership will first look to improve the assessment of strokes, with MedyMatch’s AI added to the mobile stroke units that are equipped with Samsung’s CereTom® CT (computed tomography) scanner.  This device is designed to allow rapid performance of CT scanning from onboard an ambulance.

This allows paramedics to test for strokes by assessing for brain bleeds, with the AI technology providing crucial decision support.

“We are on the threshold of the next evolutionary step in Imaging”, MedyMatch say, “Imaging technological development has been historically focused on providing clinicians the best possible image, optimizing spatial and temporal resolution, coverage and dose; however, MedyMatch’s artificial intelligence applications will leap this paradigm forward, enabling Imagers such as CT to provide clinical answers and not just images.  Creating the truly intelligent imaging machine to assist physicians every day.”

The most common form of stroke is ischemic stroke, which is when the blood flow to the brain is obstructed.  Treatment is extremely effective if administered within three hours of the first symptoms emerging.  This isn’t always the case however, as emergency rooms are incredibly busy places and swift treatment is not always guaranteed, which is where this technology comes in.

“Technology that can assist the physicians in recognizing brain bleeds more quickly, will lead to faster decision making for the patient and better outcomes,” said Dr. Peter Rasmussen, Medical Director of Cleveland Clinic’s Distance Health Program.  “Emergency treatment is needed to recognize and treat brain bleeds as quickly as possible and is critical in ensuring minimal damage.”