AI has been taught to predict heart disease
Researchers analyzed abdominal aortic calcinosis using a machine learning algorithm. The goal is to predict cardiovascular diseases that may occur in the future.The researchers used machine learning to assess calcification of the aorta, the body's main artery, and predict cardiovascular disease. They said that their method could be used to predict other diseases even before symptoms appear.
Typically, abdominal aortic calcinosis is quantified by trained imaging specialists using a 24-point system. A score of zero indicates no calcification, and 24 indicates the most severe degree of calcification.
Now researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia have turned to machine learning to speed up the process of assessing calcification.
Calcification (or calcification) of the abdominal aorta can predict the development of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke, and determine mortality risk. Previous studies have also shown that it is also a reliable marker of dementia in old age. Calcinosis can be viewed on bone density scans, which are commonly used to detect osteoporosis in the lumbar vertebrae. The problem is that it takes a highly trained technician and time to analyze these images.
The researchers say their machine learning algorithm can analyze bone density scans at a rate of about 60,000 images per day. This is a significant improvement when you consider that it takes the average technician between five and 15 minutes to analyze a single image.
The scientists used bone density scans to train the AI.
Previously, scientists have found that calcium accumulation in the abdominal aorta - a warning sign of possible future myocardial infarction or stroke. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Having analyzed 52 previous studies, the authors concluded that people with abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) in two to four times more susceptible to cardiovascular disease. Moreover, the more calcium in the walls of blood vessels, the more likely they are to develop serious complications. People with chronic kidney disease are even more at risk.