Mapping how COVID-19 affects the heart
Mayo Clinic in collaboration with U.K.-based Ultromics developed an artificial intelligence system to map how COVID-19 attacks the heart.
The researchers this week will use the EchoGo Core AI software to analyze echocardiograms of patients who have COVID-19 to determine how the virus affects the cardiovascular system. According to the researchers, the coronavirus has been found to kill more than one in 10 patients that have heart disease and has also weakened the hearts of other patients.
“To date, there is no way of linking the impact of the virus to predicted patient outcomes. By applying our technology to the evaluation of COVID associated echocardiograms, we can help understand the characteristics of cardiac involvement. We hope that by discovering a way to do this, patient management can be optimized – this is incredibly important where resources are scarce. Most importantly, we can give physicians the gift of time to treat those most in danger,” Ultromics CEO Ross Upton said in a news release.
The study will evaluate 500 coronavirus positive men and women who are aged between 18 and 89. The participants will undergo a clinically indicated echocardiography exam during a three-month period. The researchers hope to assess the automated cardiac measurements, injection fraction and global longitudinal strain to classify patient outcomes.