Medical game changer? Czech technology monitors heart health with help of AI
Regular heart rhythms can now be monitored through various apps and smartwatches. Among the most notable recent technological innovations is the Czech app Kardi AI, which utilizes artificial intelligence to detect heart arrhythmias. Doctors from Ostrava University Hospital are participating in its testing and are currently preparing a clinical registration trial to help integrate the app into routine medical practice.
Seventy-three-year-old Marie has previously undergone heart surgery for atrial fibrillation, the most common type of heart arrhythmia. Following her procedure, doctors at the Internal Medicine and Cardiology Clinic offered to monitor her heart using the Kardi AI app.
As part of this, Marie is participating in pre-screening for an upcoming clinical trial. The app, paired with a chest strap, continuously records her ECG and heart rate, with measurements taken about three times a week.
"It's great. If there are any complications, it'll pick up on it. It makes me feel safe."
The results of the measurements should give the patient the answer to whether they need to see their cardiologist in the first place. Cardiologist Jiří Plášek continues:
"Next is the classification of arrhythmias, which we have divided into seven basic categories. And the doctor then has the resulting data."
With the help of artificial intelligence, the app then evaluates the measured data.
"This is also why we are doing these studies. The pre-screening phase will be followed by an SPC regulated study next year. Then only doctors will be able to make decisions purely on the basis of this application. In the meantime, confirmation from something that is already registered is necessary."
The clinical trials are expected to start in March and involve up to 150 patients at the Ostrava and Olomouc University Hospitals. The doctor continues:
"It has huge potential. It detects a very common and fundamental arrhythmia. In the general population, atrial fibrillation occurs in about 2 percent of cases, but among individuals aged 65 and older with additional risk factors, the prevalence rises to around 15 to 20 percent."
Such a large number of people cannot be monitored using current methods. Moreover, the commonly used heart-activity monitor known as Holter has its limits. Movement or sweat of the patient causes the electrodes to stick off and therefore a poor quality recording. The chest belt, on the other hand, is taken from the world of sports, where these effects are taken into account, explains Jiří Plášek.
Patient Marie commented positively about her experience thus far:
"The Holter restricts your movement, you check that the electrodes are in the right place. With this belt, it's no problem."
In addition, the Kardi AI is more successful in detecting arrhythmias.
"If you compare the cumulative measurements over 24 hours taken over a few weeks with a 24-hour Holter monitor, the results are incomparable—like 1 percent versus 20 percent. Long-term monitoring provides a much higher capture rate."
If everything goes as planned, Kardi AI could be implemented in clinical practice by 2026. Jiří Plášek states that this would greatly accelerate diagnosis and allow for earlier treatment. The main objective is long-term outpatient monitoring.
The cardiologist also suggests that if Kardi AI is included in public health insurance coverage in the future, it could eventually become a standard tool in general practitioner offices.
