RAPID Releases New Worldwide Stroke Imaging Trends and Data for World Stroke Day

San Francisco, Calif. –October 29, 2019 – To commemorate World Stroke Day, RAPID, the worldwide leader in advanced imaging for stroke, is releasing new global stroke findings. The RAPID platform will process over 400,000 scans this year and has uncovered compelling data around stroke imaging based on the large number of scans processed to date. Findings include triple-digit increases in stroke imaging since new American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA) treatment guidelines were established at the beginning of 2018. They also reveal a large expansion in imaging studies performed in suburban and rural areas, as imaging at Primary Stroke Centers (PSC) increased substantially.

The RAPID platform is designed to provide physicians with fast, fully automated, and easy-to-interpret imaging that facilitates clinical decision-making around stroke. From 2017 to 2018 there was over a 250% increase in patients imaged with RAPID worldwide. Additionally, RAPID has already imaged over 211,000 patients in the first three quarters of 2019 and identified over 47,000 potential patients for thrombectomies (minimally invasive treatment of stroke), based on imaging criteria.

Featured Worldwide Stroke Findings:

• Since new AHA/ASA stroke guidelines and an extended window of potential treatment went into effect in January 2018, the number of suspected stroke patients undergoing RAPID imaging, at centers live in both 2017 and 2019, has increased by more than 100% worldwide (24,644 in 2017 and 51,261 in just the first 9 months of 2019). This suggests stroke centers have substantially increased the number of patients that undergo advanced imaging and can potentially be treated.
• There was over a 300% increase in suspected stroke patients scanned since 2018 in Primary Stroke Centers (10,080 in 2018 and 35,517 in the first 9 months of 2019). With most scans traditionally taking place in Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSC), these data show a large percentage increase in scans that occurred in PSCs. This suggests a movement in initial stroke imaging from specialized centers to primary stroke centers and community hospitals, as well as an expansion of stroke care in suburban and rural areas.
• In the US, the largest number of scans, based on RAPID data, are being done in the “Stroke Belt” region of the southeast, particularly for patients between 65 and 74 years old.
• Worldwide, women are undergoing advanced imaging for suspected strokes at a slightly, but consistently higher rate than men, based on RAPID data (211,135 women and 201,425 men in 2019).

“This World Stroke Day we can really see in the numbers that AI-enhanced medical imaging, along with newer 24-hour stroke treatment guidelines, are making a substantial difference in stroke care around the globe,” said Don Listwin, CEO of iSchemaView. “Whether it’s more imaging at PSCs or more thrombectomies now indicated, it all supports our goal of better outcomes for more people.”

The 2018 American Heart Association and American Stroke Association guidelines have significantly altered and expanded the management of acute stroke. Several of the studies that led to these new guidelines were led by Greg Albers, Professor of Neurology at Stanford University, Director of the Stanford Stroke Center and Co-founder of iSchemaView.

Please also join Dr. Greg Albers on October 29, 2019, at 3:00pm ET, for a special World Stroke Day Webinar, The Transparent Time Window: A New Perspective on Stroke Treatment.