England to test “super AI” that could predict likelihood
The United Kingdom's National Health Service in England is set to test a "superhuman" artificial intelligence (AI) model that potentially can predict an individual's risk of developing and passing away early from heart disease.
The new AI model, referred to as AI-ECG risk estimation, or "Aire," has been trained to read the results of electrocardiogram (ECG) tests. These tests record electrical activity, heart rates and heart rhythms in people's hearts and are used by doctors to diagnose potential heart problems like heart disease and myocardial infections.
Researchers who are promoting Aire claim the AI model can also detect problems in the structures of hearts that diagnosticians may initially miss. If these problems are found, Aire will immediately alert patients, who may benefit from further monitoring, tests or treatments.
Aire will be rolled out in hospitals under the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, encompassing seven hospitals in central London. The first round of experiments will enroll hundreds of patients, with the number of recruited patients scaling up in further studies.
If these trials are deemed successful by NHS leadership, Aire could become a common feature in all NHS trusts in five to 10 years. Reports from the U.K. indicate that around one in five licensed medical practitioners already resort to AI programs like the popular chatbot ChatGPT in clinical practice, such as by helping write letters for patients after appointments or even by asking chatbots to help diagnose illnesses.
Surveys also indicate that a majority of people in the U.K. are in favor of implementing AI to support the healthcare sector's patient care efforts. However, around one in six people are concerned that relying too much on AI could make the quality of healthcare worse.
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