A team of researchers confirms the potential of a new type of stethoscope; specialists say that the new device, with the help of artificial intelligence, can save more lives. This is reported by UNN with reference to Euronews and Spiegel.
Details
Artificial intelligence is increasingly penetrating various sectors and changing what previously seemed untouchable. A classic situation, unshakable for many decades during a patient's visit to the doctor: the doctor holds a stethoscope to the patient's chest and listens, among other things, to the heartbeat.
For reference
The hearing aid, invented in 1816 by the French physician René Laennec, has been a symbol of medicine for centuries. Always around the neck, this "simple" instrument has accompanied generations of doctors, performing the indispensable mission of examining the heart and lungs.
With the help of an AI-stethoscope, everything is probably better now... Or faster
According to new data, researchers from the United Kingdom have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based stethoscope. The new device, according to scientists, can detect three heart diseases in just 15 seconds.
Note:
- smart stethoscopes (which transmit body sounds to software) are relatively new;
- researchers are now exploring the potential of such devices.
And now a wonderful new update has been announced, which, by the way, was recently presented at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Madrid.
How the examination was conducted using the new technology
The study was conducted by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
The goal is to confirm that innovative stethoscopes can detect heart failure, heart valve disease, and cardiac arrhythmias significantly better than traditional methods.
For the study, over 12,000 patients from 96 medical facilities were examined using AI stethoscopes from the American company Eko Health. Their data was then compared with data from patients from 109 medical facilities where this technology was not used.
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According to the study, people with heart failure were 2.33 times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease within the next twelve months than those in the control group.
- atrial fibrillation, which can increase the risk of stroke, was detected in the AI-assisted group even 3.5 times more often;
- heart valve diseases were detected 1.9 times more often within twelve months.
Comment
Our study shows that it is now possible to detect three heart diseases in one session
Addition
The possibility of an undesirable effect in unfortunate circumstances cannot be ruled out.
Healthy people, for example, may be mistakenly diagnosed with heart problems.
Researchers emphasize:
The AI-based stethoscope should not be used for routine examinations, but only for patients who already have a suspected heart condition.
Recall
Researchers at Cambridge University have found that common aspirin can enhance the immune system's ability to fight cancer spread.