Early-stage analysis of the technology, which received funding from the first round of the government's AI in Health and Care Awards, shows it can reduce the time between presenting with a stroke and treatment by more than 60 minutes, and is associated with a tripling in the number of stroke patients recovering with no or only slight disability - defined as achieving functional independence - from 16 percent to 48 percent.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: "AI has the potential to transform our NHS - delivering faster, more accurate diagnoses and making sure patients can get the treatment they need, when they need it."

NHS England Director of Transformation Dr Timothy Ferris said: "Every minute saved during the initial hospital assessment of people with stroke-like symptoms can dramatically improve a patient's chance of leaving hospital in good health."

One of the systems the NHS is favouring is the weirdly named Brainomix e-Stroke system which was developed in the UK.  It uses AI algorithms to support doctors by providing real-time decision support in the interpretation of brain scans which help inform decisions for stroke patients, allowing more patients to get the right treatment.

Brainomix e-Stroke is deployed at sites spanning 11 stroke networks across the country, of which five have been funded through the AI in Health and Care Award. This funding has supported the detection of over 4,500 large vessel occlusions (LVO's) in stroke patients. LVOs are one of the most time-sensitive diagnoses in medicine and early diagnosis can lead to better patient outcomes.