Cost savings and better patient care through co-creation of novel data-intensive innovations for stroke prevention and diagnostics
On a global scale, stroke is a dramatic problem – it causes 5.7 million deaths worldwide, which is 9.7% (58.8 million) of all deaths. Stroke is an increasing problem in countries with an increasingly elderly population. For instance, in Japan, Singapore, and China, stroke is already one of the main causes of death of the elderly population.
Stroke is also the leading cause of serious long-term disability. In Finland, on average, any day, 55 people in Finland get a stroke, and one-third of these people are still at working age. 25% of these people recover normally, but 15% of them will stay permanently in the nursing home. Taking care of these stroke patients is very costly to the societies. For instance, in Finland, the direct yearly cost of stroke care is 500 million euros. Including the indirect costs, the total cost of stroke is 1100 million euros, yearly.
Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a precondition of a stroke attack, which is often called a mini stroke. Although 10.5% to 18.2% of patients with TIA will have a stroke within 90 days, more than 31-61% of the TIA patients are currently misdiagnosed. The problem is that even in the countries with the most efficient healthcare system, the actual attack is over when the patient sees the medical doctor.
However, the potential of the mobile solutions and data combinations in the TIA and Stroke risk evaluation and diagnostics are not yet largely found in the market. At the same time, possible efficient use of the available data, via artificial intelligence (AI), in the form of more advanced, data-driven decision support systems is not yet widely used in stroke prevention, diagnostics and tertiary prevention.
Such approaches would facilitate differential diagnostics, triaging, and management of cerebrovascular conditions in a cost-effective way.
Thus, advanced solutions for TIA and stroke diagnostics and improved care solutions have massive business potential. The potential exists in the US, Australia, and Europe but it is especially prominent in Asian countries. Stroke-data will capitalize on the recent advancements in AI, and, together with the richness of data, provide decision management support tools.
The development of stroke prevention and diagnostics solutions requires ecosystemic co-creation and new types of development practices between researchers, companies, and hospitals from different countries. In particular, it cannot be done without multidisciplinary expertise from technology, business, and medical fields.
