A Germany-based medical equipment manufacturer has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of determining if patients have cardiovascular disease before they show symptoms.

The tool, dubbed Cardisio, reportedly interprets heart activity via cloud-based AI algorithms in roughly 10 minutes.

To accomplish this, Cardisio employs five electrodes — four on the chest and one on the back — to monitor heart activity. Once completed, Cardisio returns a green, amber or red score, with a consultant cardiologist suggesting an association between red Cardisio test results and a referral to a cardiology clinic being indicated.

Unlike traditional two-dimensional ECGs, the technology measures the heart’s electrical activity — along with rhythm, structure and heart muscle perfusion — in three dimensions and relies on AI to interpret the data.

“Using digital technology to support patient diagnosis has the capacity to really change care pathways, helping to make referrals that are more appropriate or more specific to a patient’s problem, as well as initiating treatment in a primary care setting rather than placing someone on a waiting list, and establish which patients need to be referred to hospital,” the researchers concluded.

An article detailing the technology, “Community-based cardiovascular risk assessment using the cardisio^TM AI test: a prospective cohort study,” appears in the BJGP Open Journal.