SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2025--
RapidAI, the gold standard and global leader in neurovascular AI-based clinical decision support and enterprise radiology solutions, today announced new study findings that underscore its continued leadership in stroke imaging. The findings emphasize that not all AI is created equal, with results showing that RapidAI’s clinically deep algorithms deliver superior accuracy in detecting medium vessel occlusions (MeVOs) compared to Viz.ai.
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The data, presented as a late-breaking abstract at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC) 2025, analyzed 1,591 consecutive stroke cases at a comprehensive stroke center. Of the 1,122 eligible cases, RapidAI detected 93% (109) of MeVOs using CT Perfusion alone, compared to 70% (82) by Viz.ai.
“CT Perfusion is a powerful tool, but its full value is only realized when paired with high-performing software, especially in complex cases with smaller occlusions like MeVOs,” said Harmeet Sachdev, MD, lead investigator and neurologist. “RapidAI consistently identified more occlusions than Viz in this study, echoing what we saw in the DUEL study with large vessel occlusions. The story the data tells is clear: not all imaging tools are equally equipped to interpret complex stroke cases.”
MeVOs refer to occlusions in smaller, yet still crucial, arteries in the brain, such as the M2/M3 segments of the middle cerebral artery or the A1/A2 and P1/P2 segments of the anterior and posterior cerebral arteries. These blockages can cause severe damage if left untreated but are notoriously difficult to identify without high-performing imaging tools. The substantial number of MeVOs missed by the Viz.ai software could lead to significant delays in diagnosis and treatment.
The accuracy of Rapid CT and MR perfusion imaging for estimating core and penumbra has been extensively validated in the landmark clinical trials of DEFUSE 2, SWIFT PRIME, EXTEND-IA, and DEFUSE 3. RapidAI is the only software demonstrated to predict the subsequent infarct volume based on initial perfusion imaging. In addition, RapidAI is the only perfusion software with an FDA indication for selecting patients for mechanical thrombectomy.
“These real-world clinical findings validate what sets RapidAI apart. Deeper clinical algorithms that not only detect more but empower providers with greater clarity and confidence,” said David Stoffel, MD, chief business officer at RapidAI. “Accurate perfusion imaging is essential for identifying subtle but serious strokes. Without it, critical cases can go unrecognized, delaying treatment when every minute counts.”
The study, titled “AI Detection of Medium Vessel Occlusions: Evaluating Performance of RapidAI vs Viz.ai CT Perfusion in 1,591 Consecutive Code Strokes”, was presented at ESOC 2025.
About RapidAI
RapidAI is the world leader in AI-driven medical imaging analysis and coordinated care. With the industry’s most validated clinical AI platform, we empower care teams to rapidly, precisely, and confidently manage life-threatening conditions. Trusted by thousands of hospitals in 100+ countries, RapidAI delivers the deepest level of clinical decision support on the market to help accelerate the time to treatment and enhance patient outcomes. We go beyond the algorithm to drive care team collaboration and efficiencies that expand access to life-saving interventions. At RapidAI, we establish new standards for care teams and the patients they treat.
Example of a radiologist confirmed M2 occlusion correctly identified by RapidAI CTP (left) and missed by Viz.ai CTP (right)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Cabinet has approved a proposal for 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the far-right finance minister said Sunday, as the government pushes ahead with a construction binge in the territory that further threatens the possibility of a Palestinian state.
That brings the total number of new settlements over the past few years to 69, a new record, according to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has pushed a settlement expansion agenda in the West Bank. The latest ones include two that were previously evacuated during a 2005 disengagement plan.
The approval increases the number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50% during the current far-right government’s tenure. In 2022, there were 141 settlements across the West Bank. After the latest approval, there are 210, according to Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group.
Settlements are widely considered illegal under international law. Smotrich's office said the Cabinet approval came on Dec. 11 and that the development had been classified until now.
The approval comes as the U.S. pushes Israel and Hamas to move ahead with the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which took effect Oct. 10. The U.S.-brokered plan calls for a possible “pathway” to a Palestinian state, something the settlements are aimed at preventing.
The Cabinet decision included a retroactive legalization of some previously established settlement outposts or neighborhoods of existing settlements, and the creation of settlements on land where Palestinians were evacuated, the Finance Ministry said. Settlements can range in size from a single dwelling to a collection of high-rises.
The ministry said two of the settlements legalized in the latest approval are Kadim and Ganim, which were two of the four West Bank settlements dismantled in 2005, as part of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. There have been multiple attempts to resettle them after Israel’s government in March 2023 repealed a 2005 act that evacuated the four outposts and barred Israelis from reentering the areas.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza — areas claimed by the Palestinians for a future state — in the 1967 war. It has settled over 500,000 Jews in the West Bank, in addition to over 200,000 in contested east Jerusalem.
Israel’s government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler movement, including Smotrich and Cabinet Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation’s police force.
Settler expansion has been compounded by a surge of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank in recent months.
During October’s olive harvest, settlers across the territory launched an average of eight attacks daily, the most since the United Nations humanitarian office began collecting data in 2006. The attacks continued in November, with the U.N. recording at least 136 more by Nov. 24.
Settlers burned cars, desecrated mosques, ransacked industrial plants and destroyed cropland. Israeli authorities have done little beyond issuing occasional condemnations of the violence.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed in clashes with Israel's military on Saturday night in the northern part of the West Bank.
Israel's military said a militant was shot and killed after he threw a block at troops in Qabatiya, and another militant was killed after he hurled explosives at troops operating in the town of Silat al-Harithiya.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the Palestinian killed in Qabatiya as 16-year-old Rayan Abu Muallah. Palestinian media aired brief security footage of the incident, where the youth appears to emerge from an alley and is shot by troops as he approaches them without throwing anything. Israel's military said the incident is under review.
The Health Ministry identified the second man as Ahmad Ziyoud, 22.
Israel’s military has scaled up military operations in the West Bank since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in Gaza.
The top Catholic leader in the Holy Land visited Gaza’s only Catholic church and celebrated a pre-Christmas Mass on Sunday that included the baptism of a baby. Dozens of Palestinians gathered in the Holy Family Parish.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is on his fourth visit to Gaza since the war began, and said the Christian community aims to be a “stable, solid reference point in this sea of destruction” as rebuilding slowly begins.
“It is different this time,” Pizzaballa said. “I saw the new desire for a new life.”
The Holy Family compound was hit by fragments from an Israeli shell in July, killing three people in what Israel called an accident and expressed regret over. The parish has served as a refuge for Christians and Muslims, sheltering hundreds of displaced people.
There was a mix of gratitude and grief as people at the church marked Christmas away from home. “They welcomed us with great love and respect,” said Nazih Lam’e Habashi, 78, who stays there with his family. “This is the third holiday we are marking since the war."
“God willing, life will improve," added 67-year-old Najla Saba.
Find more of AP’s Israel-Hamas coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
A nun holds a baby as she walks to attend Christmas Eve Mass at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, leads a Christmas Eve Mass at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, leads a Christmas Eve Mass at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, left, leads a Christmas Eve Mass at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian mother of Ahmad Ziyoud, draped in the flag of the Islamic Jihad militant group, mourns during his funeral in Silat al-Harithiya, near Jenin, in the West Bank, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammad)
Palestinian men carry Ahmad Ziyoud, draped in the flag of the Islamic Jihad militant group, during his funeral in Silat al-Harithiya, near Jenin, in the West Bank, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammad)
