A study, published in the European Heart Journal–Digital Health, shows the predictive potential of a deep-learning model in identifying patients at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) following monitoring with a 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG), despite no documented prior AF, according to researchers. Led by Jagmeet Singh (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA) the study involved training Cardiologs' deep neural network to predict the near-term presence or absence of AF by only using the first 24 hours of an extended Holter recording. Results showed that the network was able to predict whether AF would occur in the near future with an area under the receiver operating curve, sensitivity, and specificity of 79.4%, 76%, and 69%, respectively, and outperformed ECG features previously shown to be predictive of AF. These results showed a ten-point improvement compared to a baseline model using age and sex, researchers suggested. The study is the first of its kind to demonstrate the capability of artificial intelligence in predicting AF in the short-term using 24-hour Holter compared to resting 12-lead ECGs, the developer of the deep-learning model, Cardiologs, said in a press release.

Data being presented at the EHRA 2022 shows Cardiologs' deep neural network model is better than Apple Watch ECG 2.0 algorithm at detecting & classifying irregular heart rhythms "Wearable devices, such as the Apple Watch, are capable of recording a single-lead ECG to determine cardiac rhythm. However, a large proportion of the smartwatch readings come back as inconclusive. This problem was solved using Cardiologs' AI algorithm. The data showed Cardiologs' AI performed equally as well but, remarkably, the results were almost never inconclusive," said Dr. Laurent Fiorina. The study included 101 patients in a typical tertiary care hospital who were assessed for atrial arrhythmia (AA).

This article was originally published February 23, 2021 on PSQH by Matt Phillion. An aging population, a shortage of clinicians, and an abundance of data--treating patients grows more and more complicated all the time. Leveraging available and emerging technology to maximize efficiency, however, offers a chance to improve care in innovative ways. "The population is aging, and more and more people are suffering from cardiac issues. Expertise is expensive, and there is limited access to those experts," says Jia Li, co-founder of Cardiologs, a medical technology company developing medical-grade artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technology to improve cardiac diagnoses.

The disruptive technologies these days are getting lots of attention in the global technology market. Particularly, artificial intelligence is one such technology that is making headlines every day. With new inventions and innovations, more and more companies are emerging across the industry to offer something that was never explored before. Most of all, various rising start-ups and other AI-based companies are securing hefty amounts of investment from significant investors every now and then. The beginning of new year marked the commencement of new era of innovation with several investors coming forward to contribute to the transformative journey of emerging innovators.

I listened carefully to Yann Fleureau's speech during the DATADRIVENPARIS event about his 4 past years as a Co-Founder and CEO of CardioLogs and his journey towards building and selling an AI-based Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) for Clinicians in the Cardiology space. CardioLogs is a Paris-based Startup building Deep-Learning Algorithms for ECG (EKG) analysis. They have raised approximately 10M$ to date and have won approval for commercialization in Europe of the first medical grade deep-learning technology in 2016 and the second in the US in 2017. Yann is a graduate from the prestigious Polytechnic School of Paris (X) and passionate about New Technology & Medicine (https://cardiologs.com/). The last 4 years of CardioLogs illustrate well the challenges of implementing an AI-based solution in clinical practice.

Many of you have probably been to France, considering that it's the most visited country in the world. While you were there, you may have noticed that the country is quite large – about the size of Texas, but with far fewer Mexicans. Like Texans, the French are proud of where they come from, and will ramble on about it in their funny little accents much to the chagrin of anyone within earshot. This sense of national pride is what made our article on "The Top-10 French Artificial Intelligence Startups" quite popular, and as we promised, we're going to follow up with an article on some French AI startups in healthcare. None of the top French AI companies we wrote about last month came from the healthcare sector, which happens to be the cornerstone of Monsieur Macron's $1.8 billion AI investment program over the next four years.