AI in health is really helping doctors make people feel better! This is revolutionising the medical field making it easier for both the doctors and patients. Today it is about the AI heart attack detection technology.
Some smart scientists claim that they’ve made a new AI tool that helps doctors figure out who might have a heart attack soon. It uses AI to look really closely at special pictures of the body called CT scans. These scans use X-rays and computers to check for problems that regular scans can’t find. It’s like a super powerful tool to help doctors keep people health.
A trial supported by NHS England is testing this at five hospitals in Oxford, Milton Keynes, Leicester, Liverpool, and Wolverhampton. They will decide soon if the NHS will use it.
Caristo Diagnostics, the company behind this tech, says they’re also working on using it to prevent strokes and diabetes.
Prof Keith Channon from Oxford University said, “This tech is amazing because it finds heart problems we can’t see with our eyes.”
In the trial, patients with chest pain who get a CT scan have their scans checked by Caristo Diagnostics’ AI platform, called CaRi-Heart. The AI finds heart inflammation and plaque, and trained operators check its work.
Research shows more inflammation means a higher risk of heart disease and heart attacks. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) says about 7.6 million people in the UK have heart disease, costing the NHS £7.4 billion each year.
Around 350,000 people in the UK get a heart CT scan every year. The Orfan study with 40,000 patients, published in the Lancet, found that 80% of people went back to their regular doctor without a clear plan for preventing heart problems.
For those patients, if they had heart inflammation, they had a 20 to 30 times higher risk of dying from a heart attack in the next 10 years. The BHF-funded study found that using the AI, 45% of these patients got meds or advice to change their lifestyle to lower their risk.
Real-Life Impact: Ian Pickard’s Story
Ian Pickard, 58, from Barwell in Leicestershire, was part of the study. After chest pain in November 2023, he got a CT scan and joined the study at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
Ian, a double-glazing salesman, was told to take statins, stop smoking, and exercise more after the AI found he was at risk of a heart attack. Ian said, “It’s a huge wake-up call. Seeing it on paper makes you realize how serious it is.”
How the AI Works
The AI measures heart inflammation by looking at the fat around the arteries. Prof Charalambos Antoniades, who leads the Orfan study, said old tools were basic and only looked at general risks like diabetes, smoking, or obesity.
“With this AI, we can see exactly which patients have disease activity in their arteries before it fully develops. This lets us treat them early to stop the disease and prevent heart attacks.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is checking if this tech should be used all over the NHS. It’s also being reviewed in the US and has been approved in Europe and Australia.
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