The computer reads the heart scan — and its measurement tracks survival even better

The single most important number on a heart scan is the ejection fraction: how much blood the heart pumps out with each beat. In the largest study of its kind, researchers from City St George's, University of London and University College London compared AI measurements of that number with measurements by experienced clinicians across MRI scans from 27,382 patients in the UK and USA, followed for more than five years. Published in The Lancet Digital Health, the study found the AI's measurements were more strongly linked to how long patients actually lived. The authors suggest AI could serve as a reliable first reader of heart scans — freeing specialists for the hardest cases and making a vital measurement more consistent wherever a scan is taken.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation