New AI technology helps treat stroke victims

CHARLOTTE — Novant Health said they see 800 stroke victims at Presbyterian Hospital yearly and when treating the medical condition, doctors say time is crucial.

Doctors use a tool that is transforming treatment and saving lives by locating where a stroke happened in the brain within seconds thanks to artificial intelligence.

Channel 9 spoke with a stroke victim who learned AI played a role in saving his quality of life.

“I drove my kids to art class the other day. That’s amazing,” said Matthew Mogk.

Mogk, 51, said it’s the little things in life shouldn’t be taken for granted after surviving a traumatic stroke.

“It was really bad. I could be a dead guy right now or not moving at all,” Mogk said. “It’s that close to not moving at all.”

Mogk’s CT scan showed an artery in the back of his brain became blocked, which stopped blood flow, and within seconds, he began feeling the effect.

“I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “I couldn’t move anything. They were talking to me, and I could kind of hear, but not really,” he said.

Doctors say a patient loses 2 million brain cells every minute their brain goes without blood, which affects speech, vision, or even whether they’re able to move.

Mogk was rushed to the emergency room at Novant Presbyterian where, little did he know, artificial intelligence would be working to save his life.

“AI has already transformed healthcare dramatically,” said Dr. Andrew Griffin, a neuroradiologist at Novant.

Griffin’s stroke team was put on notice when Mogk was checked into the emergency room.

Viz.ai analyzed images from Mogk’s CAT scan and the AI technology located where the stroke occurred.

“How fast can AI detect a stroke in a patient compared to a human? We are talking minutes down to seconds,” Griffin said.

An alert was immediately sent to Griffin’s phone, which gave him an instant roadmap to where to find the clot and clear it with a catheter.

“What does it mean for patient care?” Griffin said. “It means faster treatment and in the setting of stroke, we have a mantra called ‘Time is Brain.’”

The AI technology, along with the staff’s quick response, saved not only Mogk’s life but the quality of his life.

Mogk spent a month in the hospital undergoing intensive therapy, relearning to walk and move without assistance.

“There was a very good chance that I would not be able to do this stuff if it took an extra 20 minutes,” he said.

Mogk said he’s able to be with his wife and two children thanks to the advancement of modern medicine and AI.

“Such a traumatic experience and coming out of it so successfully and I feel like I am really, really lucky,” he said.

Mogk said he has a check-up in a couple of months, but doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

Novant has been using AI technology in stroke patients since 2019.

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