Report: AI Predicts When Patients Will Die from Heart Failure

JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/AFP/Getty Images
JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/AFP/Getty Images

British scientists have created an artificial intelligence program that can allegedly predict when a patient with heart problems will die.

The program, which was developed by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), reportedly has an 80% accuracy rate, with researchers claiming that it could be vital in discovering how “aggressive” a patient’s treatment needs to be.

“The researchers’ programme assessed the outlook of 250 patients based on blood test results and MRI scans of their hearts,” explained the International Business Times. “It then used the data to create a virtual 3D heart of each patient which, combined with the health records of ‘hundreds’ of previous patients, allowed it to learn which characteristics indicated fatal heart failure within five years.”

“The LMS scientists claim that the software was able to accurately predict patients who would still be alive after a year around 80% of the time,” they continued. “The computer was able to analyse patients ‘in seconds’, promising to dramatically reduce the time it takes doctors to identify the most at-risk individuals and ensure they ‘give the right treatment to the right patients, at the right time.'”

LMS lead researcher Dr. Declan O’Regan claimed it could “transform” the way patients are treated.

“This is the first time computers have interpreted heart scans to accurately predict how long patients will live. It could transform the way doctors treat heart patients,” he proclaimed. “A doctor equipped with this new cardiac imaging approach would therefore be able to make more informed judgements about outcome than if they were relying only on current ways to investigate patient data.”

“We would like to develop the technology so it can be used in many heart conditions to complement how doctors interpret the results of medical tests,” added Tim Dawes, who who created the program’s algorithms. “The goal is to see if better predictions can guide treatment to help people to live longer.”

The researchers are now planning to test the program in London hospitals in an attempt to verify their results.

Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.

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