Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — Hospitals in the United Kingdom are preparing to test an artificial intelligence (AI) ‘Death Calculator’ system which claims to predict a patient’s estimated time of death. The program called AI-ECG Risk Estimation (AIRE), was developed by researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and was published in The Lancet Digital Health.
The tool provides mortality risk assessments by analyzing a single electrocardiogram (ECG) test, a quick procedure that measures the heart’s electrical activity, to identify underlying health issues that may not be immediately apparent to doctors.
The AIRE system is designed to assess long-term health risks, such as irregular heart rhythms, heart attacks, and heart failure, before these conditions fully manifest. According to The Daily Mail, the AIRE program has demonstrated accuracy rates of up to 78% in predicting mortality risk within ten years of an ECG test.
AIRE will be trialed at two London NHS Trusts beginning mid-2025, and potentially available nationwide within the next five years.
How the AI ‘Death Calculator’ Works
The AIRE technology “reads” ECG results to identify patterns in the heart’s electrical signals, analyzing structural and genetic markers to detect potential heart rhythm problems and heart failure at an early stage.
The AI Death Calculator AIRE then provides a prediction figure of a patient’s risk level, measured in years. The AI is capable of analyzing ECG patterns with a level of complexity that often exceeds what can be detected by cardiologists.
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Dr. Arunashis Sau, a cardiology researcher involved in the project, noted, “We cardiologists use our experience and standard guidelines to categorize ECGs as normal or abnormal to help diagnose disease. However, the AI models can detect far more detail, allowing them to spot issues in ECGs that might appear normal to us, potentially long before any disease fully develops.”
Dr. Sau added, “The goal here is to use the ECG to identify individuals at higher risk, who might benefit from additional tests to better understand their health status.”
ECGs are very common and affordable, and they could serve as a gateway to more detailed diagnostics, ultimately helping doctors manage patient care proactively and reduce potential health risks.
This AI advancement reflects the expanding role of machine learning in healthcare, promising improved preventive care and patient outcomes through routine tests like ECGs.
(Raidi/Agung)
