[ad_1]
A foot scanner that uses AI to recognise the warning signs of heart failure could be used at home to keep people out of hospital, researchers have said.
The device takes and analyses almost 2,000 pictures a minute, in a similar manner to facial recognition, to calculate the level of fluid in the feet and ankles.
Such water retention, known as oedema, is one of three major warning signs heart failure is becoming more severe and potentially life threatening.
The AI scanner is roughly the size of a smart speaker and can alert healthcare professionals so they can take action, such as increasing the patient’s medication.
The device, developed by Cambridge-based start-up Heartfelt Technologies, is mounted to the wall and typically installed at a patient’s bedside.
It automatically takes 1,800 pictures a minute of the foot and lower leg and multiple angles, only scanning the legs to a height of 50cm off the floor, and then uses AI to calculate the level of fluid they contain. It also works without wifi.
The Foot Study, which is being presented at the British Cardiovascular Society annual conference in Manchester, suggests the alerts come 13 days before a person would end up in hospital.
It used the AI device to monitor 26 heart failure patients from five NHS trusts who were enrolled between 2020 and 2022 and asked them to weigh themselves using Bluetooth-enabled scales.
Seven instances of worsening heart failure were detected in six patients, while one death from the condition was recorded.
Researchers found in patients enrolled in the study for at least two weeks before an alert was triggered, the average lead time before hospital admission was 13…
[ad_2]
