MARSEILLE, France and PROVIDENCE, R.I., April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Volta Medical, a pioneering medtech startup advancing novel artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to treat cardiac arrhythmias, today announced it will participate at Heart Rhythm 2022, where Volta VX1 digital AI companion technology will be featured in several venues, including a poster session, podium presentation, Rhythm Theater program and the Volta exhibit booth. VX1 is a machine and deep learning-based algorithm designed to assist operators in the real-time manual annotation of 3D anatomical and electrical maps of the human atria during atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial tachycardia. It is the first FDA cleared AI-based tool in interventional cardiac electrophysiology (EP). On Friday, April 29, VX1 will be highlighted in two scientific sessions: session DH-202, "Machine Learning Applications for Arrhythmia Detection and Treatment" from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Volta's Rhythm Theater presentation, "Can AI Solve the Persistent AF Paradigm?," will be held Saturday, April 30 from 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Somewhere in Peter Maercklein's heartbeat was an abnormality no one could find. He survived a stroke 15 years ago, but doctors never saw anything alarming on follow-up electrocardiograms. Then, one day last fall, an artificial intelligence algorithm read his EKGs and spotted something else: a ripple in the calm that indicated an elevated risk of atrial fibrillation. Specifically, the algorithm, created by physicians at Mayo Clinic, found Maercklein had an 81.49% probability of experiencing A-fib, a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to heart failure and stroke. Just days later, after Maercklein agreed to participate in a research study, a wearable Holter monitor recorded an episode of A-fib while he was walking on a treadmill.

Malcom Finlay (Bart's Health Centre, London, UK) reviews the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnosing arrhythmias. Johnny, a 72-year-old film producer, is meeting clients when his watch gently vibrates notifying him of his irregular pulse. He pressed his finger to his strap, and with a swipe sends the single lead ECG to his cardiologist without pausing the meeting. The AI delivered backbone powering self-diagnostics and wearables is invisible but always present: AI is taking over the medical world. Or so it would seem.

It would be easy to wonder what Zachi Attia is doing in the cardiac operating rooms of one of America's most prestigious hospitals. He has no formal medical training or surgical expertise. The first time he watched a live procedure, he worried he might faint. But at Mayo Clinic, the 33-year-old machine learning engineer has become a central figure in one of the nation's most ambitious efforts to revamp heart disease treatment using artificial intelligence. Working side by side with physicians, he has built algorithms that in studies have shown a remarkable ability to unmask heart abnormalities long before patients begin experiencing symptoms.

As technology in medicine continues to grow by leaps and bounds, the onus on incorporating it in a manner that benefits both patients and physicians has never been greater. A recent study into use of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict overall health using 12-lead ECG readings is one of many examples in cardiology where physicians are looking to do just that. Suraj Kapa, MD, cardiac electrophysiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, was the lead investigator of that study and he is the subject of this episode of the DocTalk Podcast. I'm Patrick Campbell, associate editor with MD Magazine, and I will be your host for this edition of DocTalk as we discuss using AI to determine overall physical health from 12-lead ECG readings with Dr. Kapa. Welcome to DocTalk, Dr. Kapa, if you wouldn't mind introducing yourself to our audience and telling us a little bit about your background, and listing any relevant disclosures you have before we begin, then we can dive into our chat.

Artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted electrophysiology (EP) shows promise, but even its most ardent advocates aren't ready for full-fledged endorsement--yet. A robot revolution is coming, predicted the Huffington Post in November. Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data and an analysis by Ball State University's Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER, online June 19, 2017), the article warned that nearly half of American jobs are "vulnerable to automation." Many came couched among counsel to prepare for a changing job market, while others have joined the debate about what machines should and shouldn't be tasked with doing. Medicine hasn't been immune to the debate, leading some clinicians to worry that AI--the same brain behind automation, robotics and deep learning--might someday replace them just as it's predicted to do to workers in many manufacturing jobs.