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HealthAdvisor: An AI-based app for personalised stroke prevention

Awarded: The HealthAdvisor project was honoured at the ADC Award, the largest creative competition in the German-speaking area.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Custom Development

Stroke is the second most common cause of death worldwide and a great challenge facing medicine. Committed to saving lives and providing support to people affected by stroke as well as reducing healthcare service costs, IBM iX has created a new digital service in collaboration with ai4medicine.

Graphical representation of the individual app components

Individual stroke prevention can save lives

Every year, there are more than 270,000 cases of stroke in Germany. Those affected are unlikely to lead a normal, independent life. One in five patients dies within four weeks. In an ageing society, treatment is also an increasing cost factor for the health system. Targeted prevention can help avert at least 70% of all cases of stroke. Nowadays, preventive measures are rather generic and do not take into account the lifestyle of each and every patient individually.

Graphical illustration of man with binoculars

Artificial Intelligence in support of preventive healthcare

We are using the AI-revolution for healthcare benefits – with an app that enables personalised stroke prevention. HealthAdvisor shows users how change in behaviour can have an impact on individual risks.

Increased physical activity, reduced alcohol consumption and smoke cessation. Those are, most of the time, challenging changes because patients need to break old habits. HealthAdvisor shows in an edifying manner the connections between individual measures. With that, the app helps patients get closer to their personal objectives step-by-step and discover what types of behaviour can help reduce the risk of stroke.

With informed consent to participate in studies, the app data are relayed to research partners. The calculation of risk of stroke is continuously improved by training the AI model, turning the risk of stroke predictable in the long term. State-of-the-art technology — Apple HealthKit, ResearchKit and CareKit, as well as cooperation with prestigious clinics, such as Charité Berlin — can radically better the treatment and prevention of the second most common cause of death in the world with the use of the app.

Detailed view of the app with various information

“We wouldn’t like to think that people might suffer a stroke because we are too slow at using innovative technology.”

Dr. Dietmar Frey, MD

CEO, ai4medicine

Manage risks independently, support research, save lives

The HealthAdvisor supports doctors in assessing individual risks and encourages patients to maintain a participatory and autonomous management of their health. Users receive a guide through the jungle of complex correlations. At the same time, the research on stroke prevention gains knowledge. The app thus helps save lives, reduces the costs of medical assistance and brings advances in science, providing researchers with additional data for studies.