Diagnostics & imaging AI · Stroke imaging AI
RapidAI
RapidAI is imaging software that analyzes brain and vascular scans, including CT perfusion, CT angiography, and non-contrast CT, and sends results to stroke and vascular teams.
Strong fit
- Stroke centers and health systems that select patients for clot removal using CT perfusion and CT angiography
- Networks that want one imaging AI vendor across stroke, brain bleeds, aneurysms, and vascular disease
- Hospitals that want the software with the longest record in published stroke trials
Weak fit
- Small hospitals that only need a basic alert for a blocked brain artery
- Buyers who want to pick separate AI tools from many vendors on an open marketplace
- Buyers who need a published price list
Bottom line
RapidAI makes imaging software that reads brain and vascular scans and sends the results to stroke teams. It began as an automated imaging tool for neurology at Stanford University, and its perfusion maps were used to choose patients in the DAWN and DEFUSE 3 trials, which led stroke guidelines to extend the treatment window from 6 to 24 hours. Hospitals choose it when they want the most studied stroke imaging platform and plan to use it beyond stroke.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
Greg Albers, a Stanford neurologist who has run the Stanford Stroke Center since 1992, co-founded the company with Roland Bammer. Its software started in 2008 as a fully automated way to process brain scans for neurology at Stanford. The DEFUSE 3 and DAWN trials used Rapid imaging to choose stroke patients for treatment many hours after symptoms began, and Albers led all three DEFUSE studies. Rapid now reads non-contrast CT, CT angiography, and CT perfusion scans for stroke and sends the results to the care team. In 2022 it expanded into cardiovascular, endovascular, aneurysm, and trauma imaging, and in 2024 it launched its Enterprise Platform and Navigator Pro for radiologists.
Karim Karti, who ran GE Healthcare's $9 billion imaging business, became chief executive in January 2022. RapidAI says its software is used in more than 2,500 hospitals and has been studied in more than 750 peer-reviewed papers. In 2025 it launched Lumina 3D, which TIME named one of the best inventions of the year, and the company says its Rapid LVO tool showed superiority over Viz.ai's Viz LVO.
Compare Viz.ai when the main goal is coordinating the care team across a hospital network, Brainomix when a national or regional network wants evidence from large real-world studies, Nicolab when stroke networks need images and messages shared between hospitals, and Methinks AI when most hospitals in the network do only non-contrast CT.
Competitor landscape
| Vendor | Overall | Ease of implementation |
|---|---|---|
| RapidAI | 8.1 | 7.6 |
| Brainomix | 7.8 | 7.7 |
| Viz.ai | 7.7 | 7.3 |
| Nicolab | 7.3 | 7.3 |
| Methinks AI | 6.8 | 7.0 |
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Enterprise subscription quoted by RapidAI, usually priced by hospital or network and by the modules switched on. |
| What usually drives cost | Number of sites, which modules are used (stroke, brain bleed, aneurysm, vascular, radiology worklist), and integration with PACS and mobile alerts. |
| What to ask in diligence | Annual price per site and per module, what is included in mobile access for the care team, and price protection for later years. |
| Published pricing | No public list price. |
Prerequisites for purchase
| Need | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What you need to get RapidAI to function | |
| Stroke program owner | Someone has to own door-to-treatment times. |
| Scanner and PACS connections | Every CT and MRI scanner must send studies to Rapid. |
| Mobile alert list for the stroke team | Results only help if the right people see them. |
| Agreement on which modules to start with | Stroke, bleed, and aneurysm tools have different users. |
| Security review | Images and alerts leave the hospital network. |
| What will maximize your value | |
| Start with CT perfusion and LVO detection | That is where the evidence is strongest. |
| Review door-to-groin times each month | Shows whether alerts change treatment. |
| Add spoke hospitals to the same network | Transfers move faster when everyone sees the same images. |
| Deal-breakers | |
| No stroke program owner | |
| Scanners not connected | |
| Needs a single low-cost alert only | |
Value creation time frame
| # | Stage | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contract, security review, and scanner connections | 4-8 weeks |
| 2 | First hospital live | 1-2 months |
| 3 | Network and extra modules | 3-6 months |
Leadership
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.