In 2020, Cardiovascular Disease has been prevalent in Singapore, nearly 31.7% of total deaths were recorded making it to be one of the main causes of death in the country. The AI techniques aim to capture and interpret cardiac images, conduct in-depth assessments among at-risk populations and discover complex patterns of cardiovascular diseases.
The National Heart Center Singapore (NHCS) integrated AI into cardiovascular care provision to detect and predict CVD and provide very detailed reports. This AI-enabled the providers to track and monitor disease progression, as well as to manage and administer treatment for heart disease at an early stage. With its great potential, the researchers attest that AI will be a great help to address challenges related to diagnostics and even predicting the future progression of the disease. Additionally, it can potentially save costs, broaden the accessibility of cardiac scans to patients and improve overall healthcare in the population of Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Singhealth, which is an NHCS part, signed a three-year partnership with Singapore Innovate to further the adoption of AI and other emerging technologies in healthcare. The healthcare group also recently entered into a collaboration with National Supercomputing Centre Singapore. As part of the partnership, they will support SingHealth’s Artificial Intelligence for Transformation of Medicine Programme, which works to develop AI algorithms that predict a patient’s risk of cardiovascular events. Across Asia-Pacific, public and private stakeholders have also pursued initiatives to advance the application of AI in the diagnosis and prediction of heart diseases. Cardiovascular Systems Imaging and Artificial Intelligence (CVS.AI), is the first of its kind in Singapore and Southeast Asia to study the different aspects of heart diseases using various imaging methods, such as CT, MRI, and nuclear imaging.
There are new tools that Singaporean researchers have invented in relation to medical care. A team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) created a diagnostic tool that uses an AI machine learning algorithm that enables computers to learn from past experiences like a human. Another is a new tool that could lead to a faster diagnosis of heart disease where it is powered by artificial intelligence (AI), uses electrocardiograms (ECGs), and has an accuracy rate of 98.5%. Singapore’s National University Health System (NUHS) also adopted a virtual wards system to care for Covid-19 patients remotely. NUHS’ virtual wards enabled COVID-19 patients to recover at home, given that their condition doesn’t require hospitalization.
Doctors and nurses monitor the health of recovering patients in two ways. First, patients or patients’ families will speak with caregivers every one to two days through video or audio calls. Wearable devices allow NUHS to monitor patients’ blood oxygen levels, temperature, and pulse rate while they recover at home.
Reference:
Aisyah, K., Sharon, A., Dharmaraj, S., & Siacor, J. (2022, March 14). Ai to detect, monitor heart disease in Singapore. OpenGov Asia. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://opengovasia.com/ai-to-detect-monitor-heart-disease-in-singapore/
