INDIA – Ahmedabad-based Zydus Hospitals has joined forces with India Medtronic Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medtronic plc, to incorporate cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) into stroke care in Gujarat, India.
In line with the terms oof the agreement, Medtronic will collaborate with Zydus Hospitals to build an AI-driven ecosystem that can help in timely diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients in Gujarat via a hub and spoke network.
Medtronic will leverage indigenous AI-enabled technology to develop tools and technologies that can support the education and training of doctors in select remote hospitals across the country.
The joint statement said: “The hub and spoke system is based on an advanced AI capable of interpreting a CT scan for a stroke.”
The AI-driven system will allow a team of stroke experts at any of the Zydus Hospitals (hub) to visualize the CT scan performed at the remote hospital (spoke) enabling the local physician at the remote hospital to make decisive and rapid treatment decisions.
According to the Indian Stroke Association, the incidence of stroke in India has increased by almost 100 per cent in the past few decades with nearly 1.8 million patients affected by stroke each year.
Stroke is now the fourth leading cause of death and the fifth leading cause of disability in the region. In the bigger cities with improved healthcare infrastructure, patients stand a better chance of proper diagnosis, followed by the requisite treatment.
To address healthcare inequities in stroke care, Zydus Hospitals and Medtronic will launch India’s first indigenous AI-based Stroke Care Network in Gujarat to improve access to diagnosis and treatment for patients in peripheral and rural settings.
“The partnership will serve the people of peripheral Gujarat by helping them deal with stroke as a disease effectively,” the companies claimed.
In his address, Dr. V. N. Shah, Mentor, Senior Endocrinologist and Metabolic Physician at Zydus Hospitals, emphasized about the need for a greater patient-centric approach to stroke care in India.
“The patient-centric approach will take us on the path of constant improvisation. Treatment of any disease starts with quick and efficient detection,” he noted.
Dr. Shah pointed out that the launch of peripheral stroke centers will enhance the survivability of stoke patients in India, adding that Medicine as a profession revolves around the patient.
Commenting on the AI partnership, Michael Blackwell, Vice President, Medtronic India said: “At Medtronic, we arere accelerating the development of technologies that can help patients manage their disease while living their lives to the fullest.”
He disclosed that the MedTech company is consistently partnering with hospitals across India to advance its vision of transforming stroke care for patients across the country, noting that the partnerships utilize technology to address local healthcare barriers across the care continuum.
In October 2020, Apollo Hospitals Group teamed up with India Medtronic Private Limited to integrate artificial intelligence for advanced stroke management in the country.
Medtronic deployed its stroke technologies, technical expertise, training and comprehensive stroke management with the integration of an AI-driven platform at the Apollo Institute of Neurosciences at ten locations in Apollo Hospitals across the country.
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