'Game changer' AI detects hidden heart attack risk

Technology that identifies people at risk of a heart attack in the next 10 years has been hailed as "game changing" by scientists.

The artificial intelligence (AI) model detects inflammation in the heart that does not show up on CT scans, which involve a combination of X-rays and computer technology.

A pilot project, supported by NHS England, is running at five hospital trusts in Britain.

A decision on its use within the NHS is expected within months.

Its developer, Oxford University spinout company Caristo Diagnostics, said it was already working to adapt the technology to prevent strokes and diabetes.

"This technology is transformative and game-changing because for the first time we can detect the biological processes that are invisible to the human eye, which precede the development of narrowings and blockages [within the heart]," said Prof Keith Channon from the University of Oxford.

Prof Charalambos Antoniades, Orfan study lead, said the tools available until now were primitive because risk calculators could only assess general risk factors, such as whether a patient is diabetic, smokes or is obese.

He said: "Now, with this kind of [AI] technology, we know exactly which patient has the disease activity in their arteries before the disease has even developed.

"This means we can move early to end the disease process and treat this patient to prevent the disease from developing and then prevent heart attacks from happening."