Using Artificial Intelligence to Catch Irregular Heartbeats

Posted on January 15th, 2019 by Dr. Francis Collins Thanks to advances in wearable health technologies, it's now possible for people to monitor their heart rhythms at home for days, weeks, or even months via wireless electrocardiogram (EKG) patches. In fact, my Apple Watch makes it possible to record a real-time EKG whenever I want. For true medical benefit, however, the challenge lies in analyzing the vast amounts of data--often hundreds of hours worth per person--to distinguish reliably between harmless rhythm irregularities and potentially life-threatening problems. Now, NIH-funded researchers have found that artificial intelligence (AI) can help. A powerful computer "studied" more than 90,000 EKG recordings, from which it "learned" to recognize patterns, form rules, and apply them accurately to future EKG readings.