Scripps Research Translational Institute researchers have developed an AI, which can extract cardiac information from just 3-electrodes, as opposed to the traditional, current use of 12-leads attached to a patient. The work was published August 1, 2024, in the journal npj digital medicine.
From the Abstract:
"The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is an integral component to the diagnosis of a multitude of cardiovascular conditions. It is performed using a complex set of skin surface electrodes, limiting its use outside traditional clinical settings. We developed an artificial intelligence algorithm, trained over 600,000 clinically acquired ECGs, to explore whether fewer leads as input are sufficient to reconstruct a 12-lead ECG. Two limb leads (I and II) and one precordial lead (V3) were required to generate a reconstructed 12-lead ECG highly correlated with the original ECG..." (Mason, F., Pandey, A.C., Gadaleta, M. et al. AI-enhanced reconstruction of the 12-lead electrocardiogram via 3-leads with accurate clinical assessment. npj Digit. Med. 7, 201 (2024).
Online news service MedicalXpress reports: ...cardiologist Evan Muse, MD, Ph.D., the lead of cardiovascular genomics at Scripps Research Translational Institute, assistant professor of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research and co-senior author of the new paper. "It likely means not only increased access to ECG technology, but decreased costs and improved patient safety."
Part of the study involved cardiologists reviewing readings from both 3- and 12- lead EKG charts. For the AI-derived, 3- lead information, the cardiologists were able to understand heart attack symptoms with an 81.4% accuracy. For 12-lead report reviews, the percentage was 84.6%.
It is anticipated that the new AI technology, which must undergo further study first, may be able to open up EKG-based diagnosis to patients not only faster, but without the need for highly-trained specialists having to read the EKG results first- to begin proper life-saving treatment.
