UK hospitals are set to trial an innovative AI-driven technology, AIRE (AI-ECG risk estimation), capable of predicting patients’ life expectancy through routine ECG tests. This “death calculator,” as it’s informally known, analyzes heart electrical activity to identify hidden health risks that may go undetected in standard cardiology evaluations. In early trials, AIRE has shown up to 78% reliability in forecasting patients’ 10-year mortality risk. The initial pilot, planned for mid-next year at two NHS trusts in London, aims to expand the technology across the NHS in the next five years.
Dr. Arunashis Sau from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust emphasizes that AIRE’s purpose is to enhance, not replace, clinical expertise by identifying high-risk patients who could benefit from further, more detailed testing. Through advanced analysis, AIRE detects electrical and genetic indicators in the heart’s structure, which signal potential heart issues or failure long before symptoms are apparent. This preemptive approach could lead to personalized treatments and potentially reduce severe cardiovascular events.
Research published in Lancet Digital Health underscores AIRE’s potential, with studies on over 1 million ECGs showing an 80% accuracy in predicting future heart failure and a 70% accuracy in detecting heart disease. Dr. Fu Siong Ng, another cardiologist at Imperial, envisions that eventually, every hospital ECG could go through AIRE, giving clinicians not only a diagnosis but also a prediction of health risks, enabling earlier intervention. With rising heart attack and stroke cases, especially among younger patients due to lifestyle-related conditions, AIRE’s development marks a critical step forward in preventative care.
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