An Oxford University spinout company Caristo Diagnostics has developed an Artificial Intelligence model that can identify individuals at risk of a heart attack within the next decade, BBC reported. 

Scientists have dubbed this model revolutionary, as it identifies cardiac inflammation that cannot be distinguished on a computed tomography or CT scan, a combination of X-ray and computer technology. 

A pilot programme is currently being implemented in five hospitals in Oxford, Milton Keynes, Leicester, Liverpool, and Wolverhampton hospital trusts with the support of NHS England. It has been presented, and a decision regarding its applicability to the NHS is pending in the forthcoming months. 

They are also using the technology to prevent diabetes and strokes. Professor Keith Channon from the University of Oxford said: “It is transformative and game-changing technology since it is the first time that we can monitor biological actions that are not visible to the naked eye which comes before the formation of these narrowings and blockages [within the heart]. 

In the pilot, patients with chest pain and who have been referred for a standard CT scan get their scan results passed through Caristo Diagnostics’ CaRi-Heart AI. An algorithm indicating the presence of inflammation in the coronary artery and plaque is then checked and confirmed by operators. 

They have found that an increased level of inflammation also means an increased chance of developing cardiovascular disease or fatal heart attack. The British Heart Foundation BHF states that about 7. Over 6 million people in the United Kingdom are suffering from heart disease which the National Health Service in England spends £7. Cardiac CT scans are done about 350,000 in the UK every year. 

The Orfan study done on 40,000 patients from Oxford Risk Factors and Non-invasive Imaging published in the Lancet stated that 80% of patients were referred back to primary care without any particular preventive management or treatment course. 

It was established that patients with inflammation in their coronary arteries were 20 to 30 times more likely to die in the next 10 years from a Cardiac event. With the help of this AI technology, 45% of such patients were either prescribed medication or advised to make changes to avoid a future heart attack.