UZ Brussel PERT and Aidoc Pave the Way as First Hospital in Europe for Expedited Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism with AI

Aidoc AI identifies suspected cases of acute pulmonary embolism, enabling rapid care coordination and treatment cross-functionally with their PE Response Team

LONDON, Oct. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aidoc today announced a pioneering collaboration with the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) at UZ Brussel (UZB), becoming the first European hospital to use AI for cross-departmental care coordination, expediting treatment for suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) patients. Aidoc automatically flags suspected positive cases of PE and sends an automatic alert to UZ Brussel's Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT), allowing for fast multidisciplinary decision-making and rapid delivery of life-saving treatment.

"The use of the new application is a step forward in expediting the treatment of pulmonary embolisms because the artificial intelligence allows the images to be evaluated in a systematic manner according to predefined criteria," shared Frans Van den Bergh, interventional radiologist at UZ Brussel.

Pulmonary embolism is the third most common acute cardiovascular syndrome, resulting from a blood clot obstructing a lung artery, and can be swiftly fatal without prompt diagnosis and treatment. Early initiation of treatment is associated with better outcomes, but with hospital admissions on the rise and increased demand for CT scans from emergency departments, rapid communication of results to referring physicians is a constant challenge for radiologists^1,2. AI-driven PERT solutions deployed in hospitals in the United States have shown great success,  resulting in 40% reduction in time-to-treatment³ and 37% decrease in the length of hospital stays⁴.

"We are thrilled about our ongoing collaboration with Aidoc," states Marc Noppen, CEO of UZ Brussel. "I'm delighted to witness Aidoc's AI platform expand beyond radiology, delivering value to other service lines, which promises to bring huge benefits to our patients."

Aidoc's always on AI has already been running at UZB, assessing all chest CT exams for PE and prioritising suspected positive cases in the radiology workflow. Now, when a suspected acute PE case is identified by Aidoc's AI, PERT members – comprising an interventional radiologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist and intensivist – receive a notification via Aidoc's mobile app. The notification includes images and clinical data including the right ventricle-to-left ventricle ratio, an important predictor of adverse outcomes in acute PE. The app's chat feature allows for secure cross-departmental discussion and for rapid action to be taken. Every step in the imaging workflow — from acquisition and algorithm activation to care escalation – is automatically facilitated by Aidoc's industry-leading operating system, the Aidoc aiOS™.  

"As our first partner in Europe, UZ Brussel is no stranger to AI, they were the first to implement our entire suite of Radiology AI solutions and now they are the very first hospital in Europe to deploy AI across service lines to manage and treat acute PE patients," says Jeremy De Sy, RVP Sales and Innovation Europe at Aidoc. "This innovative approach not only enhances patient care but also sets the stage for a promising future of AI-driven healthcare across Europe."

About Aidoc

Aidoc is a pioneering force in clinical AI. We focus on aiding and empowering healthcare teams to optimize patient treatment, which results in improved economic value and clinical outcomes. Our clinically proven AI solutions eliminate silos, increase efficiencies, and improve outcomes by delivering critical information when and where care teams need it leading to immediate collective action. Built on Aidoc's proprietary aiOS™, we analyze and aggregate medical data to enable care teams to operationalize the unexpected and work seamlessly with a continued focus on the patient. Used in more than 1,000 medical centers worldwide, Aidoc has the most CE-marked solutions (10) in clinical AI and its AI-based solutions cover 75 percent of patient populations, enabling physicians to make informed decisions based on real-time data. Aidoc AI is always on, running in the background to change the foreground. Visit Aidoc.com to see how we are connecting all points of care with always on AI.

About UZ Brussel

UZ Brussel (University Hospital Brussels) has a staff of more than 4,100 employees. It is attached to the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels) on the Brussels Health Campus in Jette. With 721 hospital beds, it accounts for 30,779 admissions of patients each year from Belgium and abroad, 412,246 consultations (emergencies not included) and 78,840 patients at the emergency care. Its philosophy is founded on three principles: Dutch-speaking, pluralist and social. As a university hospital, it also has a teaching mission and conducts scientific research. More information can be found at www.uzbrussel.be.

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References

[1] Cheikh AB, Gorincour G, Nivet H, et al. How artificial intelligence improves radiological interpretation in suspected pulmonary embolism. Eur Radiol. 2022;32(9):5831-5842. doi:10.1007/s00330-022-08645-2

[2] Smith SB, Geske JB, Maguire JM, Zane NA, Carter RE, Morgenthaler TI. Early anticoagulation is associated with reduced mortality for acute pulmonary embolism. Chest. 2010;137(6):1382-1390. doi:10.1378/chest.09-0959

[3] Gupta et al. "Mechanical Thrombectomy, Artificial Intelligence and the Activation of a Pulmonary Embolism Response Team" PERT Consortium 2022

[4] Zaiden et al, "Enhancing Patient Outcomes with an AI-Based PERT Team in a Large Academic Health System." PERT Consortium 2023.