Artificial technology and cutting-edge software is being used across Sussex to improve the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients.

The Sussex Integrated Stroke Delivery Network (ISDN) has begun a roll out of software that assesses the severity of a stroke and a mobile app that allows stroke teams to easily share scanned images to support rapid diagnosis and treatment.

The software is being used at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, as well as at Worthing Hospital, St. Richards in Chichester and the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

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Dr Ingrid Kane, consultant stroke physician at University Hospitals Sussex, said: “This is a groundbreaking artificial intelligence decision support tool that will promote safer, more effective hyper-acute stroke care in Sussex.

“At a local level this tool will help us to speed up diagnosis and therefore patient care in a simple and safe way.

“For both patients and clinicians having access to this support, no matter where they live in Sussex, is a real step forward for stroke care.”

The technology allows teams to make clinical decisions wherever they are, by taking a scan of the brain that can be immediately transferred to a clinician’s phone, tablet or computer.

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Carol Wilson, a 49 year-old teaching assistant from Woodingdean, may owe her life to the new software, after being taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital on June 7.

She said: “As soon as I was at the hospital, they did a brain scan using the technology and a blood clot on the brain was diagnosed. I was straight into theatre, the blood clot was removed and within a few hours I was having a cup of tea and a biscuit on the ward - within two days, I was back home.

“It’s truly amazing what new technology can do. They say time is so important in stroke cases. Everything happened so quickly and I feel so, so lucky. I am so thankful for the care I received.

“I am back working, looking after my grandson again and back going to the gym again - absolutely back to normal.”

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Professor Nik Patel, consultant cardiologist and cardiovascular director at East Sussex NHS Trust said the software is an excellent example of the multidisciplinary and inter-hospital collaboration across their stroke network.

“The technology will allow the management of stroke to be more accessible, fast and of the highest quality,” he said.

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