In a recent UK study, researchers have used AI for the first time to measure blood flow and predict chances of death, heart attack and stroke.

For the study, which was funded by the British Heart Foundation, researchers took routine Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) scans from more than 1,000 patients at London’s St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital and used new AI to analyze the images. The AI-assisted approach enabled the researchers to precisely and instantaneously quantify the blood flow to the heart muscle and deliver the measurements to the medical teams treating the patients.

“Artificial intelligence is moving out of the computer labs and into the real world of healthcare, carrying out some tasks better than doctors could do alone,” said Professor James Moon, of the London-based UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Barts Health NHS Trust. “We have tried to measure blood flow manually before, but it is tedious and time-consuming, taking doctors away from where they are needed most, with their patients.”

Non-invasive blood flow assessments have previously been available, but until now the scan images have been difficult to analyze in a manner precise enough to deliver a prognosis or recommend treatment.

The leading global cause of death and illness, heart disease often involves reduced blood flow, , and while international guidelines therefore recommend a number of assessments to measure a patient’s blood flow, many are invasive and carry a risk.

“The predictive power and reliability of the AI was impressive and easy to implement within a patient’s routine care,” observed Dr Kristopher Knott, also of the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Barts Health NHS Trust. “The calculations were happening as the patients were being scanned, and the results were immediately delivered to doctors. As poor blood flow is treatable, these better predictions ultimately lead to better patient care, as well as giving us new insights into how the heart works.”

The AI techniques used to analyze the images in the study were developed by Dr. Peter Kellman, at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), along with Dr Hui Xue at the NIH.

According to Dr. Kellman, “This study demonstrates the growing potential of artificial intelligence-assisted imaging technology to improve the detection of heart disease and may move clinicians closer to a precision medicine approach to optimize patient care.”