Artificial Intelligence plays key role in diagnosing cardiac diseases, says expert

P. Ramesh Babu, chief cardiologist at Aster Ramesh Hospitals addressing a press conference in Vijayawada on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies play a key role in medical diagnostics. In Western countries, doctors in preventive cardiology no longer depend solely on tests such as ECG, Treadmill Tests and Echo to assess the risk of heart attacks, said chief cardiologist of Aster Ramesh Hospitals, Pothineni Ramesh Babu.

Announcing the launch of AI-powered Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) CT at Aster Ramesh Hospitals during a press conference here on Sunday, Dr. Ramesh Babu said that AI technologies, including recurrent, multi-layered deep neural networks, are significantly improving precision diagnostics and treatment in cardiology.

“For the first time in the country, Aster Ramesh Hospitals has launched the CT FFR Technology. Doctors can decide whether a patient needs stents, how many are required, and the exact size needed using CT Angiogram, FFR and plaque morphology assessments,” Dr. Ramesh Babu said.

The cutting-edge on-site CT Angiogram FFR equipment was installed for the first time in the country at the Aster Ramesh Hospitals in Vijayawada, Guntur, and Ongole. The test allows the cardiologists to determine whether a patient needs stents when they are in the CT scan room, he explained.

Stating that 80% of the cardiac arrests are avoidable, Dr. Ramesh Babu advised regular medical checkups after attaining 40 years of age.

Cardiologists Dr. Somnath Sharma, Dr. Bhaskar Naidu and a team of doctors gave a PowerPoint presentation on the occasion.