OSF HealthCare Expands RapidAI Across 18 Hospitals to Speed Stroke Care

OSF HealthCare is expanding its use of artificial intelligence (AI) for stroke care across all 18 hospitals in its Illinois and Michigan health system, extending a deployment that began at select facilities.

The health system announced the expansion with RapidAI, a medical technology company whose platform analyzes medical images and helps clinical teams coordinate care. 

The Rapid Enterprise Platform is designed to integrate AI into hospital imaging and care workflows. RapidAI says its platform connects with picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), electronic health records (EHRs), worklists and care-team tools, while supporting stroke imaging across non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT), computed tomography angiography (CTA) and computed tomography perfusion (CTP).

OSF Expands From Selected Hospitals to Systemwide Use

OSF said its initial use of RapidAI at select hospitals produced improvements in treatment times and more consistent identification of patients who could benefit from stroke intervention.

The expansion is intended to make the technology available throughout the health system, including hospitals that may need to connect patients with specialists at larger stroke centers. OSF's existing stroke network connects rural hospitals with comprehensive stroke centers at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria and OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford.

That model makes speed in imaging review and communication important because stroke treatment is highly time-sensitive. The American Stroke Association said nearly 2 million brain cells die every minute a stroke goes untreated.

The use of AI for stroke imaging is part of a wider move toward narrowly focused clinical AI tools that support existing hospital workflows. AI-powered stroke CT triage has already moved into routine care at other health systems, where imaging analysis and alerts are used to bring suspected urgent findings to specialists faster.

At OSF, the stated goal is to extend that type of workflow across the system rather than limit it to individual facilities.

RapidAI Targets Minutes in Stroke Treatment

Arun Talkad, who directs stroke care at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, said faster access to high-quality images can reduce delays between imaging and clinical decisions.

"The sooner we can get these images," Talkad said, "that can save minutes."

RapidAI's platform is built to distribute imaging findings and AI-generated information to care teams through mobile, desktop and workstation tools. The company says clinicians can share case images, communicate in real time and track patients across the care journey.

The software is intended to support clinical triage rather than replace physicians. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared Rapid NCCT Stroke, a RapidAI product, as radiological computer-aided triage and notification software. The FDA documentation describes it as a tool for analyzing head CT images and notifying clinicians about suspected findings.

The broader RapidAI deployment also reflects how health systems are moving clinical AI beyond isolated pilots and into standardized workflows. The emphasis is on using imaging software to surface information sooner while keeping diagnosis and treatment decisions with clinicians.

For OSF, the next step is systemwide availability across its 18 hospitals. The health system expects the expanded use of RapidAI to strengthen access to stroke expertise and support more consistent care across its network.