Google Develops Artificial Intelligence to Assess Heart Health

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but they’re also a window into heart health thanks to breakthrough health technology that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

In a study published in February 2018 in Nature Biomedical Engineering, Google AI researchers and Verily (a health tech subsidiary of Google) teamed up to develop a non-invasive procedure to assess future heart health with retinal imaging techniques. Scientists used AI cameras to observe the blood vessels behind the eyes of more than 250,000 individuals from the United Kingdom and United States. From the collected data, an algorithm predicted the next five years of cardiovascular health for each patient with over 70 percent accuracy.

“This discovery is particularly exciting because it suggests we might discover even more ways to diagnose health issues from retinal images,” Lily Peng, a product manager for the Google Brain AI research group, said on their blog.

According to Peng, more testing is necessary before the procedure will be available publicly.

If perfected, retinal imaging could provide a painless and more efficient alternative to getting blood work done, which can take several days to provide results.

“To make this useful for patients, we will be seeking to understand the effects of interventions such as lifestyle changes or medications on our risk predictions and we will be generating new hypotheses and theories to test,” Peng said.

Nieca Goldberg, MD, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Health and the Medical Director of their Center for Women’s Health in New York City, describes retinal imaging as a window into our blood vessels — allowing us a deeper view of what’s going on in a person’s vascular system.

“This technology allows us to look for changes in the blood vessels that may signal diabetes or hypertension [high blood pressure]. Ophthalmologists have sent me patients because their blood vessels indicated high blood pressure,” Dr. Goldberg says.

Goldberg explains, we are still a few years away from seeing retinal imaging in the doctor’s office: The tech is there, but the logistics surrounding its implementation are not.

“It’s a study, so it has to be tested for accuracy and outcomes. What are the costs and who is responsible for them — the patients, or the healthcare system?”

The Importance of Knowing Your Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

Despite advancements in technology, inexpensive preventive care techniques are mainstays.

Cardiovascular disease, or coronary artery disease (CAD), is preventable if you’re committed to improving your health, and know your risk factors.

The American Heart Association recommends the following tried-and-true steps for assessing your heart health:

- Get your blood pressure checked at every regular healthcare visit.
- Ask for a cholesterol screening every four to six years. But if you or your family have a history of heart problems, you’ll - want to get it checked more often.
- Measure your body mass index (BMI) at every regular healthcare visit.
- Measure your waist circumference as needed.
- Take a blood glucose test at least every three years.
- Discuss smoking, fitness, and diet with your doctor.

If there is room to improve your cardiovascular health after assessing your results, work with your health practitioner to create an action plan and chart your progress.