How an AI tool for fighting hospital deaths actually worked in the real world

In November of 2018, a new deep-learning tool went online in the emergency department of the Duke University Health System. Called Sepsis Watch, it was designed to help doctors spot early signs of one of the leading causes of hospital deaths globally. Sepsis occurs when an infection triggers full-body inflammation and ultimately causes organs to shut down. It can be treated if diagnosed early enough, but that's a notoriously hard task because its symptoms are easily mistaken for signs of something else. Sepsis Watch promised to change that.