AI Foot Scanner Offers Early Heart Failure Warnings, Saves Lives!

Quick Smiles:

• A bedside foot scanner equipped with AI may help prevent heart failure hospitalizations.
• The device detects fluid buildup, a key indicator of heart failure, well in advance.
• Most participants in a recent study chose to keep the scanner after the trial.

An innovative foot scanner designed to sit beside your bed could become an essential ally for those at risk of heart failure.

This groundbreaking technology, developed by Heartfelt Technologies in collaboration with the UK’s National Institute of Health, uses artificial intelligence to analyze 1,800 images of a person’s feet.

The scanner’s primary function is to detect oedema, a fluid buildup that serves as one of the top indicators of impending heart failure.

Heart failure is a serious condition where the heart struggles to pump blood effectively, leading to fluid accumulation in the lungs and insufficient oxygen reaching vital organs.

Dr. Philip Keeling, a consultant cardiologist at the South Devon National Health Service Foundation Trust, emphasized the scanner’s potential impact.

“This device detects one of the big three warning signs for people with heart failure before they end up in hospital,” he noted.

Currently, only about half of those hospitalized with heart failure receive an early assessment by a specialized nurse to check for harmful fluid buildup due to heart malfunction.

“With a shortage of heart failure nurses, a device like this can be like a virtual nurse, tracking people’s health,” Dr. Keeling added.

The study led by Dr. Keeling included 26 patients across five NHS trusts.

The device successfully alerted users to potential heart failure between eight and 19 days before a possible hospitalization, with an average prediction time of 13 days, allowing enough time for preventive measures.

During the trial, six hospitalizations occurred, and the device accurately predicted five of them.

Remarkably, 82% of participants opted to keep the device post-trial.

Dr. Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, which was not involved in the study, remarked, “This small study suggests a simple device could significantly improve outcomes for at-risk patients with heart failure by keeping them out of hospital.”

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