Stroke, then the third leading cause of disability-adjusted life years globally, consumed approximately €27 billion annually across EU countries. Our research definitively documented significant inefficiencies, including average hospital stays of 92 days for younger stroke patients, with total direct costs reaching €80,020 per patient in rehabilitation settings. The pathway’s complexity was compounded by the fact that approximately 30% of strokes remained cryptogenic despite extensive diagnostic efforts, clearly highlighting critical gaps in understanding and diagnostic capabilities that demanded urgent innovation.

Stroke care in Europe has greatly improved, especially with endovascular therapy and mechanical thrombectomy. Centres now treat medium and distal vessel occlusions within extended timeframes. Artificial intelligence helps quickly diagnose clots and recommend treatment. A major challenge is still managing staff and the location of stroke centres in some EU countries.

Today’s stroke care has greatly improved, as witnessed by recent customer engagements, addressing the need for automated detection of critical events. Companies like Brainomix and Brain.Q are using new technologies to improve treatment and rehabilitation. The key to success is combining these technologies with better care coordination, as shown by European Stroke Organisation’s AI efforts.