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VALIDATE: Use of AI to advance personalised acute stroke treatment and to improve outcomes

Mar 16, 2024

On Brain Awareness Week’s sixth day we are focusing on VALIDATE which is using artificial intelligence (AI) to personalise acute stroke treatment and improve outcomes.

In ischemic stroke treatment, timely access to appropriate interventions is paramount. While there are a range of effective therapies, navigating the intricacies of individual patient cases and not accurately considering each individual patient holistically can influence treatment outcomes and long-term quality of life.

The VALIDATE team are aiming to improve this. By using datasets from thousands of patient profiles and state-of-the-art AI models, they are developing and validating a clinical decision support system. Central to this project is the creation of a new App which aims to provide additional information for clinicians by predicting the outcome of different treatment strategies. This system will empower healthcare professionals in choosing the optimal treatment strategy tailored to each patient’s unique circumstances.

Beyond providing accurate prognosis, the success of the Validate App hinges on gaining the trust of clinicians and patients in its implementation. To achieve this, rigorous testing in real-world clinical settings will be conducted through observational studies, validating its efficacy and reliability.

For stroke survivors, the long-term implications could mean personalised treatment options and improved outcomes and quality of life.

For more information visit the VALIDATE website https://validate-project.eu

VALIDATE has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 777107.

ANGIE: 3D patient brain models could increase access to thrombectomy

Mar 15, 2024

On Brain Awareness Week’s fifth day we are focusing on ANGIE, a research project supported by EU, which aims to develop micro-robots for targeted drug delivery, to dissolve blood clots in acute stroke treatment.

To ensure accurate targeting, the research team have developed 3D-printed re-constructions of patient’s brain vessels based on their MRI scans. These brain 3D models are gaining recognition in the medical community for their ability to provide a realistic and safe environment for doctors treating stroke to hone their skills and facilitating earlier and more extensive training.

Ultimately, this advancement could mean that more patients have access to more lifesaving procedures and go on to improve stroke treatment outcomes.

More information can be found at www.h2020-angie.eu

The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 952152.

TRUSTroke – A new EU research project uses AI for predictive ischemic stroke management

Mar 14, 2024

On Brain Awareness Week’s fourth day we are focusing on a new project called TRUSTroke which is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve life after stroke for stroke survivors.

Currently, the ability to predict potential future complications that may result in further hospital re-admissions post-stroke is limited. In response, TRUSTroke is developing an advanced technology to help healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers manage both immediate and long-term effects of an ischemic stroke.

Hear Dr. Carlos Molina, Head of the Stroke Research Group at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, talk data safety and how his team are hoping to improve stroke outcomes in the future.

More information can be found at www.Trustroke.eu

TRUSTroke has received funding from the European Union in the callHorizon-hlth-2022-stayhlth-01-two-stage under grant agreement No.101080564

TENSION trial reveals that thrombectomy is safe to use in patients who have had a severe stroke

Mar 13, 2024

TENSION is a large international study that was launched in 2018 with the hope to extend the benefits of a treatment called mechanical thrombectomy to stroke patients who are not currently offered this treatment option.

Thrombectomy is a treatment for certain types of acute ischaemic stroke. It uses very small devices to breakdown and remove the clot from the blood vessel in the brain. It can drastically reduce the level of post-stroke disability by restoring blood flow and therefore limits brain damage.

So far, thrombectomy trials have included highly selected groups of stroke patients – those with only small blood infarcts in the brain. This means that thrombectomy treated is limited and only available to small number of people.

The TENSION project aimed to determine if thrombectomy was safe to use in patients who had a severe stroke i.e. where a large blood clot had caused the stroke.

The trial results which were simultaneously unveiled at the World Stroke Congress and published in The Lancet, found that using thrombectomy can significantly help patients with severe strokes caused by blocked blood vessels in the brain. The study’s findings are likely to pave the way for broader consideration of this approach for a greater number of patients in the future.

“This is great news and if the results drives treatment guidelines updates, more patients should experience improved outcomes after a severe stroke” says Prof Dr Götz Thomalla, Principal Investigator of the study.

TENSION has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 754640.

Funded by the EU

ELASF will be accredited by EACCME® for healthcare professionals

Feb 16, 2024

The European Life After Stroke Forum on 11-12 March in Dublin, has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®). This means that healthcare professional delegates will be awarded 6.5 European CME credits (ECMEC®s) following the completion of our post-event survey.