Stroke International Services (SIS) and Siemens Healthineers enter into a partnership to advance stroke management in Vietnam

• The 8-year Value Partnership will support SIS to further expand its stroke management network within Vietnam.
• It focuses on comprehensive solutions including innovative medical technology, first-of-its-kind robotic solutions in the country, integrated digitally enabled services, and customized training programs in stroke management.
• It includes a research collaboration in stroke and will serve as a reference site for Siemens Healthineers.

Stroke International Services (SIS) and Siemens Healthineers have entered into an 8-year Value Partnership to advance stroke management in Vietnam. As part of this long-term partnership, Siemens Healthineers will install innovative medical technology and robotic solutions, anchoring on various digitalization platforms, and will further develop its training centers to organize customized education programs on managing stroke, moving forward. This investment by SIS will focus on building a full stroke management network, with an extension to Ho Chi Minh city and Quang Nam province. For Siemens Healthineers, this will be the first Value Partnership focusing on stroke in Southeast Asia.

SIS is the first fully dedicated stroke network in Mekong Delta Vietnam, and it is known for bringing advanced stroke care to 17 million people of Mekong Delta, since 2019. SIS will set up its first comprehensive stroke center in Ho Chi Minh city, focusing on the research and application of medtech in the intensive training of stroke diagnosis and treatment. Whereas the SIS stroke center in Quang Nam province will address the population of Central Vietnam. With advanced medtech solutions by Siemens Healthineers, SIS aims to bring internationally acclaimed stroke treatment standards to this part of Asia, while becoming an education hub for Southeast Asia.

Dr. Tran Chi Cuong, Director of SIS shared, “We put a lot of focus and efforts in improving the patient journey and enhancing the treatment outcome. COVID-19 has challenged the entire healthcare industry to innovate, in order to adapt to the new situation. In 2020, about 23% of stroke patients arrived at our hospital within the ‘golden hours’, while in 2021, due to COVID-19, this ratio reduced to 19%. This is the worrying change, because late arrival of patients has resulted in higher chance of disability or death. I am pleased to announce this new strategic partnership with Siemens Healthineers to help extend our network in Ho Chi Minh city and Quang Nam province, wherein we will deploy innovative technology and digital solutions to accelerate the emergency and diagnosis process, while building tele-consultation, remote monitoring of patients and digitally managing their health data, which will be accessible for all doctors anywhere, anytime. In addition, SIS will become one of the reference sites for Siemens Healthineers.”

According to Mr. Philipp Breschan, General Manager of Siemens Healthineers in Vietnam, “We understand that for a fast-growing country like Vietnam, there is a need to build affordable and accessible quality healthcare solutions, not only in the metropolitan cities, but also in the remote areas. Over the past two years, Siemens Healthineers has been a proud partner to SIS Can Tho Stroke Center in Mekong Delta and today, we are honored to bring this partnership to the next level. This Value Partnership will be first such for a stroke institute for us in Southeast Asia. We will not only provide innovative technology but will also provide local and global knowledge on technical and clinical aspects, to further support SIS to develop its training center.”

Stroke management in Vietnam and Southeast Asia

Stroke is the second most common cause of death worldwide and a leading cause of long-term disability. According to Hanoi Ministry of Health, every year, Vietnam records about 200,000 strokes, 50% of which cannot be cured. Notably, the rate of young people having a stroke is increasing every year by 2%1 . Currently, the number of stroke cases in middle-aged and young people accounts for 30% of the total number of patients.

With these increasing incidences, rapid response, diagnosis, and treatment plays a decisive role in the progression of stroke and the likelihood of long-term damage. Greater public awareness of early symptoms and deployment of the latest technological developments and treatment options constitute a major step forward for stroke patients.

SIS’ plan to build a full stroke management network will significantly contribute to address these challenges in Vietnam. The intention of developing a training center for stroke management for Southeast Asia, will further overcome the challenge of skilled manpower and timely diagnosis and treatment of this illness. Siemens Healthineers local and global team will play a key role by providing expert knowledge on technical and clinical aspects.

Digitalization to improve patient outcomes

The integrated digitally enabled services and solutions through this partnership will help SIS to improve operational efficiency, while enhancing overall patient experience. For instance, the syngo virtual cockpit software platform, used for remote scanning assistance will be installed, which will overcome the challenge of access to quality diagnostics. This partnership will also bring in AI Rad companion, an Artificial Intelligence powered workflow solution that increases diagnostic efficiency and precision in radiology.

“For the very first time in Vietnam, we will be installing Corindus robotic-assisted interventional solution, which makes the precision and quality of interventional procedures more accessible and reproducible. This and similar such innovative features like dual source in CT and Biomatrix technology supported by AI in MRI scanner, will bring higher diagnostic confidence and an optimal stroke treatment environment. In addition, SIS will be able to improve the patient journey by reducing waiting time, which is of critical importance, as every minute counts in a stroke treatment,” adds Dr. Cuong.

“With Value Partnerships like these, Siemens Healthineers aims to support the immediate goals of SIS, by giving timely access to state-of-the-art stroke treatment to a substantiate population of Vietnam. We also want to support the long-term objectives of SIS, which is to contribute towards the advancement in stroke management. To that aim, we are entering into a research collaboration agreement, so we can bring together resources and expertise of both organization and have a long-lasting impact beyond the SIS stroke network. This demonstrates how such Value Partnerships can play a critical role to overcome the increasing challenges the industry is facing today and thereby advance healthcare for the future”, elaborates Mr. Breschan.

This collaboration with SIS is a long-term Value Partnership. This partnership model with Siemens Healthineers enables healthcare providers to expand capabilities, optimize business processes and advance innovation. It spans over the entire Siemens Healthineers portfolio, to generate added value above and beyond equipment itself. Value Partnerships are designed to best fit the specific customer needs. Siemens Healthineers has formed Value Partnerships with many healthcare providers around the world. The latest examples include HMI Group in Southeast Asia, Hamilton Health Sciences in Canada, the University of Missouri System in the USA, Dallah Health Company in Saudi Arabia and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) in the UK.

“SIS’ purpose is to bring stroke treatment of international standard to local people at affordable cost and to train more stroke treatment experts in Vietnam and neighboring countries, by means of strong partnerships with medtech companies, healthcare providers or universities from overseas, to expand their capabilities and international reach. The partnership with Siemens Healthineers will greatly contribute to the realization of our goal.” Dr. Cuong added.

About Siemens Healthineers

Siemens Healthineers AG (listed in Frankfurt, Germany: SHL) is shaping the future of healthcare. As a leading medical technology company headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, Siemens Healthineers enables healthcare providers worldwide through its regional companies to increase value by empowering them on their journey towards expanding precision medicine, transforming care delivery, improving the patient experience, and digitalizing healthcare. Siemens Healthineers is continuously developing its product and service portfolio, with AI-supported applications and digital offerings that play an increasingly important role in the next generation of medical technology. These new applications will enhance the company’s foundation in in-vitro diagnostics, image-guided therapy, in-vivo diagnostics, and innovative cancer care. Siemens Healthineers also provides a range of services and solutions to enhance healthcare providers’ ability to provide high-quality, efficient care to patients. In fiscal 2020, which ended on September 30, 2020, Siemens Healthineers generated revenue of €14.5 billion and adjusted EBIT of €2.2 billion. Following the acquisition of Varian Medical Systems, Inc. the company has approximately 66,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available at www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-vn

About SIS

SIS Can Tho International General Hospital was established in January 2019 with the goal of providing the people of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam with high quality specialized medical care services in stroke and cardiology. SIS has scale of 13.000 square meter and is fully equipped with modern systems (high-end ultrasound, 128-slice CT scane, 3T MRI) and a modern international standard hybrid operating room to support 24/7 patient monitoring. By end of September 2021, with the team of leading experts in the field, SIS Can Tho International Hospital has examined and treated nearly 169,000 patients, of which more than 71,000 patients came for stroke scanning and treatment. In October 2021, the hospital achieved Platinum standard in stroke treatment granted by World Stroke Association (WSO). With international standard technology for stroke treatment now in the Mekong Delta, Can Tho SIS has delivered positive patient impact, improving “golden time” (under 6-hours from the onset of a stroke) access to care from less than 10% to 23% coverage in the region. Can Tho SIS has been instrumental in not only providing international standard of care but also in improving access to quality care in the Mekong Delta. Further information is available at: https://sisvietnam.vn/

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