The RES-Q+ project, funded by EU Horizon, aims to improve stroke care by combining care quality data, digital technology and artificial intelligence. Building on the global RES-Q registry, an international database that helps hospitals track and improve stroke treatment, RES-Q+ aims to extend this support for stroke survivors beyond their hospital stay.
One of the innovations of the project is the virtual assistant (VA), a digital tool co-created with stroke survivors, developed to support recovery during the months after leaving hospital.
A digital companion for recovery
Recovery does not end when someone leaves hospital. Many stroke survivors need to take medications, keep an eye on their health and watch for any new symptoms at home, often with only brief and infrequent checkups.
The VA acts as a friendly, companion that is always available. It helps stroke survivors to:
- Track blood pressure and other important stroke risk factors
- Complete short, conversational questionnaires about mobility, mood and daily functioning
- Keep an overview of medications
- Store important health documents securely
- Access trusted, clinician-approved information about stroke and recovery
The VA is clear about its role. It does not replace medical professionals and does not provide personalised medical advice. When needed, it encourages stroke survivors to contact their healthcare team.
Why this matters for stroke survivors
Checkups after a stroke are often limited in time and important changes can happen between appointments. By collecting and summarising information for healthcare professionals through the RES-Q platform, the VA helps connect what happens at home with what is discussed in meetings with healthcare teams.
For people recovering from stroke, this means a smoother process that is more joined-up, with fewer things getting lost or forgotten and more meaningful conversations with their health care team. By helping people feel less alone once the leave the hospital, the VA can support safer recovery and boost confidence during their life after stroke.
Hendrik Knoche, project co-leader at Aalborg University, says:
“We developed the virtual assistant together with stroke survivors and clinicians to address real challenges after discharge. By capturing what happens between appointments and presenting it clearly to doctors, the tool helps make follow-up visits more meaningful and better informed.”
Arlene Wilkie, Director General of SAFE, says:
“Stroke recovery does not end when a stroke survivor leaves hospital. By connecting home recovery with hospital checkups,clinical follow-up, the virtual assistant helps ensure that no important details or changes are missed. This is an important step towards more personalisedand joined up stroke care.”
Click to visit the RES-Q+ website
Or contact SAFE on research@safestroke.eu
RES-Q+ has received funding from the European Union under grant agreement No 101057603. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Health and Digital Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them
*RES-Q+ partners
- Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic
- Aalborg University, Denmark
- Charles University, Czechia
- Technical University Dublin, Ireland
- ALANA, Ireland
- Trinity College Dublin
- Ontotext, Bulgaria
- University of Murcia, Spain
- Timelex, Belgium
- Chino.io, Italy
- Masaryk University, Czechia
- Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research, Spain
- Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany
- World Stroke Organisation, Switzerland
- Stroke Alliance for Europe, Belgium
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
- Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Poland
- University Hospital of Bucharest, Romania
- Multiprofile Hospital for Active Treatment in Neurology and Psychiatry, Bulgaria
- Health Management Institute, Czechia
- University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
- International Clinical Research Center at St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Czechia
