A new artificial intelligence tool deployed at Singapore General Hospital can identify life-threatening brain bleeds in about six minutes, compared to the previous 30 to 60 minute wait for diagnosis. The AI system, called iScreen, analyzes head CT scans for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), a type of bleeding inside the skull that requires immediate medical intervention. By flagging urgent cases automatically, the tool allows radiologists to prioritize patients faster, potentially making the difference between full recovery and permanent disability.

What Is Intracranial Hemorrhage and Why Does Speed Matter?

Intracranial hemorrhage refers to spontaneous or traumatic bleeding inside the brain, characterized by rapid deterioration and high mortality rates. At Singapore General Hospital, approximately 10 percent of the roughly 50 head CT scans performed daily reveal acute ICH. These bleeds can occur from strokes, ruptured aneurysms, tumors, or traumatic head injuries, and are especially common in elderly patients and those taking blood thinners, even after minor falls.

In emergency medicine, every minute counts. When a patient arrives with suspected brain bleeding, clinicians need rapid confirmation to begin treatment. iScreen addresses this critical time gap by instantly analyzing CT images and alerting radiologists to urgent cases, ensuring expert review happens faster without sacrificing accuracy.

"iScreen has been transformative in how we respond to suspected intracranial bleeds. Urgent scans are typically reported in 30 minutes to an hour. With iScreen, accurate AI test results are consistently ready in about six minutes, this means our patient care team can confidently make faster decisions for patients. In haemorrhage care, that reduced reporting time can really make the difference between life and death, or between a full recovery and lasting disability," said Dr. Robert Chen, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Neuroradiology, Singapore General Hospital and National Neuroscience Institute.

Dr. Robert Chen, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Neuroradiology, Singapore General Hospital and National Neuroscience Institute

How Does iScreen Fit Into Singapore's AI Healthcare Strategy?

iScreen is the first head CT model deployed on AimSG, Singapore's national AI medical imaging platform developed by Synapxe, the country's national HealthTech agency, in partnership with Singapore General Hospital and HealthTech startup Iota MedTech. AimSG functions as a centralized marketplace for AI models, allowing clinicians to use multiple AI tools without being locked into specific hardware or software systems.

Since its integration into SGH's radiology workflow in January 2026, iScreen has already demonstrated measurable impact. The hospital reduced report turnaround times for CT brain scans with acute ICH to within 30 minutes, down from the previous baseline of 30 to 60 minutes. This improvement occurred while maintaining diagnostic accuracy, as all AI-generated findings are reviewed and verified by expert radiologists before any final report is issued.

How AI Brain Bleed Detection Maintains Patient Safety

• Radiologist Verification: All AI-generated findings are reviewed and confirmed by expert radiologists before any final diagnosis is reported to patients, ensuring human oversight prevents AI errors.
• Round-the-Clock Availability: iScreen provides continuous analysis of head CT scans 24 hours a day, seven days a week, eliminating delays caused by radiologist availability or workload.
• Urgent Case Prioritization: The system automatically flags critical cases requiring immediate attention, allowing radiologists to focus on the most time-sensitive patients first.
• Integration Into Clinical Workflow: Rather than replacing radiologists, iScreen augments their work by handling initial screening and alerting them to urgent findings, improving efficiency without reducing oversight.

What Does Expansion of AimSG Mean for Singapore's Healthcare System?

AimSG has been deployed across all three public healthcare clusters in eight public healthcare institutions since 2023, including Changi General Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National Centre for Infectious Diseases, National University Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and Woodlands Hospital. The platform has also been extended to primary care settings such as NHG Polyclinics, bringing AI diagnostic support beyond hospital emergency departments.

"We are proud to partner with SGH and Iota MedTech in deploying the first head CT scan AI model on AimSG. The introduction of this head CT scan model highlights the capabilities of the AimSG platform and opens the door to expanding this technology to other public healthcare institutions," stated Henry Kang, Director, Innovation Capabilities Enablement, DNAi, Synapxe.

Henry Kang, Director, Innovation Capabilities Enablement, DNAi, Synapxe

The deployment of iScreen signals a broader shift in how Singapore's public healthcare system is adopting AI for medical imaging. By creating a centralized platform that coordinates multiple AI models across institutions, AimSG reduces barriers to adoption and allows clinicians to switch between tools without vendor lock-in. This approach enables faster scaling of proven AI technologies across the entire public healthcare ecosystem.

For patients experiencing stroke or traumatic head injury, the six-minute diagnostic window that iScreen provides could be the difference between recovery and permanent neurological damage. As more AI models are added to AimSG and deployed across Singapore's healthcare network, the potential to improve outcomes in other time-sensitive conditions continues to expand.