PROJECT TEAM
Katrine Bredahl Buggeskov, project leader, experienced in clinical research and working as an anesthetist at Centre of Head and Orthopedics , Department of anesthesiology and TraumeCentre , Rigshospitalet.
THE NEED
Each year, approximately 400,000 patients in Denmark require anesthesia for surgery or procedures. Pre-anesthetic consultations take around 30 minutes per patient and place a high demand on specialist resources—resources that could be used where they are more urgently needed.
THE SOLUTION
The solution is ATHENA – an AI-assisted platform that automates preoperative anaesthetic assessments by analyzing airway images and health data. It identifies low-risk patients as surgery-ready without physical consultation, enabling remote evaluations and reducing clinician workload
ATHENA - Rigshospitalet
Call 6 - 2024
500.000 DKK
Clinical Area
Optimized Anaesthetic Workflow
Technology
AI system
PROJECT SUMMARY
ATHENA is an AI-based decision support tool for preoperative assessment. By replacing traditional in-person consultations, it enables flexible, location-independent evaluations—reducing hospital visits for patients and allowing clinicians to focus on core tasks.
CLINICAL IMPACT
ATHENA enhances clinical quality by standardizing preoperative assessments and freeing specialized staff to focus on complex cases. The AI support enables early risk stratification, improves patient safety, and increases accessibility across regions. Patient pathways become more flexible and efficient, while variation and errors in assessments are reduced through consistent AI-driven analysis.