Two new AI assessments offered in Welsh hospital

St Joseph’s Hospital, in partnership with Heart & Lung Imaging (H&L), has become the first hospital in Wales to offer two artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled imaging assessments, which can identify a range of respiratory and cardiac conditions, potentially in their earliest stages. 

The Lung Health Check and CaRi-Heart Cardiac Health Check are both offered in partnership with H&L’s network of UK-wide consultant cardiothoracic radiologists.

With the potential to eliminate unnecessary biopsies as well as to speed up diagnoses, the new Lung Health Check uses reporting supplemented by AI analysis to detect abnormalities which may be invisible on a conventional chest x-ray.

It is based on AI detection and quantification of lung nodules, emphysema and interstitial lung disease to give a truly comprehensive assessment of a patient’s lung health. As well as giving those with a high risk of developing lung cancer the opportunity to identify signs of the disease at the earliest possible stage, it may also be used to look for the signs of other lung abnormalities and COVID-19 infection damage. 

CaRi-Heart – developed by Caristo Diagnostics and based on research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) – brings together motion-free images of a patient’s heart arteries and AI-derived information to assess an individual’s heart health. The check combines the measurement of coronary artery inflammation with other clinical risk factors and can help calculate an individual’s risk of a fatal heart attack within the next eight years.  

Jane Carpanini, director of Advanced Diagnostics at St Joseph’s Hospital, said: “The more we are able to predict health outcomes, the earlier we are able to offer interventions which we know can have a positive impact – such as changes in diet and exercise. As end-to-end packages, both assessments offer patients the best possible care at each stage and have the potential to change thousands of lives in the process.”