Radiologist-led firm Avicenna.AI gains FDA clearance for stroke CT assistant
France-based artificial intelligence firm Avicenna.AI has earned clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a new tool that helps radiologists diagnose strokes from CT images.
“Cina Head,” as the solution is called, aids docs with the automatic detection of hemorrhaging inside of the skull or a clot blocking the flow of blood to the brain, the company said Tuesday. The system identifies such emergencies through a combo of deep and machine learning, with company officials claiming it can reach a diagnosis within 20 seconds.
"When dealing with a stroke, time is of the essence and being able to prioritize effectively is critical to saving lives and improving outcomes,” Peter Chang, MD, a radiologist and co-founder of Avicenna.AI, said in a statement. “Not only does Cina Head help radiologists to identify pathologies quickly, but also to highlight those that require the most urgent care."
Nearly 800,000 strokes occur in the U.S. each year, and about 1 in 10 are caused by intracranial hemorrhage. Another one-third are attributed to large vessel occlusion, the company noted, making it the most common type of stroke.
Avicenna.AI said it has already tested Cina Head at 250 imaging centers in the U.S. and logged high marks in detecting both ICH and LVO, according to the announcement.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.