New Zealand Launches National Trial of AI Stroke Tool to Speed up Treatment

Health authorities in New Zealand have begun a two-year national study to test whether artificial intelligence can cut delays in stroke treatment and improve access to life-saving therapies.

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, in partnership with the University of Otago, Wellington, is working with Dutch AI developer Nicolab to roll out its stroke imaging platform, StrokeViewer, to up to 30 hospitals across the country. The trial, funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC), will be the first nationwide deployment of the technology.

Researchers will track treatment times and intervention rates before and after the AI tool’s introduction, as well as assessing feasibility, cost, and user satisfaction. The project aims to address inequities in stroke care, particularly among Māori patients and those in rural areas where specialist expertise is harder to access.

Rapid reperfusion therapies such as intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy are known to reduce disability and improve recovery, but they depend on quick and accurate scan interpretation. “Timely expertise is difficult to access, especially at smaller regional hospitals,” the HRC project summary notes.

The government estimates the program could enable 850 more patients each year to receive urgent stroke therapies, while delivering short-term health sector savings of NZ$5m (£2.3m) and long-term societal savings of up to NZ$40m (£18.7m).

Findings from the study will feed into the work of the National Stroke Network, which is developing a nationwide model of care as part of wider reforms to clinical services. Nicolab has already expanded its stroke AI solution in Australia, where it secured approval earlier this year to supply 36 hospitals in Queensland after a successful two-year proof-of-concept.