The National Health Service (NHS) in England is setting new benchmarks in healthcare innovation with the rollout of an AI-powered stroke diagnosis tool across all 107 stroke units in the country. Since its launch last summer, the technology has been used to treat more than 60,000 stroke patients, delivering faster diagnosis, better treatment decisions, and improved recovery rates.

A stroke requires immediate and accurate intervention, as a patient can lose up to two million brain cells every minute without treatment. Traditionally, scan interpretation relied heavily on specialist availability, causing delays in life-saving decisions. The new NHS AI tool analyses CT brain scans in real time, detects subtle patterns, and instantly shares results with clinicians. This has reduced treatment delays by over an hour, ensuring patients receive timely care.

The impact has been profound. The proportion of patients receiving thrombolysis, a clot-dissolving drug, has already increased by 0.7%, while faster interventions have tripled the chances of recovery without disability. Nearly half of stroke survivors in England are now able to return to normal life, according to NHS data.

With strokes remaining the fourth-leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for around 38,000 deaths annually, this AI innovation represents a major leap in saving lives and transforming patient outcomes. The NHS is also exploring AI applications in prostate cancer testing and supporting trials of advanced neurological treatments like Neuralink’s brain chip.