In this webinar, Frederik Baastrup Hammer (Human Bytes) and Merel Boers explore how artificial intelligence is influencing stroke care beyond imaging—particularly in workflow coordination, clinical communication, and decision support in time-critical environments.

The Global Burden of Stroke
Merel highlights that stroke remains a major global burden, with 7 million deaths annually and a growing proportion of younger patients affected. At the same time, up to 40% of patients still arrive too late for treatment, often due to delays in recognition, fragmented workflows, and inefficient interhospital communication.
A key challenge discussed is that stroke care is not only a diagnostic problem, but a coordination problem. In many cases—especially in rural or primary stroke centers—patients are evaluated outside regular hours, scans are interpreted under pressure, and critical information is not always shared efficiently between hospitals. This contributes to missed diagnoses, unnecessary transfers, and repeated imaging.

From diagnosis to coordination: why stroke care is a system problem
While AI in stroke is often associated with image analysis, the discussion emphasizes that its current strengths lie in standardization rather than decision-making. Most existing tools focus on post-processing tasks such as segmentation and scoring, helping reduce variability but not yet supporting full clinical reasoning.
This is where workflow integration becomes central. The real opportunity for AI lies in connecting imaging, communication, and clinical context into a single coordinated environment—supporting faster escalation, clearer handovers, and more structured collaboration between care teams.

Beyond imaging AI: toward connected, workflow-driven stroke care
Merel introduces Nicolab’s platform as an example of this shift, combining cloud-based imaging access with real-time communication between hospitals and care teams. By enabling instant image sharing, structured notifications, and collaborative case review, the platform aims to reduce fragmentation in acute stroke pathways.
Beyond imaging, emerging developments include AI-driven clot characterization and deeper integration with clinical systems such as EHRs, aiming to support treatment planning and improve consistency in decision-making across hospitals.

To gain deeper insights into these topics and hear the full discussion, watch the complete webinar recording below: