New Delhi: The Netherlands Maastricht University has signed an agreement with Apollo-Microsoft Cardiology Consortium to help expand the AI Network for cardiology and research on cardiovascular diseases in Netherlands.
The partnership was announced at the inaugural session of the DST-CII India Netherlands Technology Summit at New Delhi recently in the presence of the King of the Netherlands Willem–Alexander, and India’s Minister for Science and Technology, Health & Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan.
Apollo Hospitals–Microsoft Consortium is building AI Network for Cardiology to develop an India-specific heart risk score and better predict cardiac diseases for the general population with the help of Apollo’s database and expertise in the field, and Microsoft’s leading cloud and AI tools.
The algorithm is based on a vast amount of datapooled from over 200,000 patients treated at six of Apollo’s hospitals. At Maastricht, the model will now be validated using data from the Maastricht Study (a long-term cohort health study in the Maastricht region) and from the Heart+VascularCenter at Maastricht University Medical Center.
“Using this technology, from the countryside of India to the city of Maastricht, we can identify people at risk for cardiovascular disease,” says André Dekker, professor of Clinical Data Science at Maastricht University. “And we can also give them very specific advice to adjust their lifestyle to reduce the risk,”he adds.
Launched in August 2018 by Microsoft India and Apollo Hospitals, the AI-powered Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score API (application program interface) is the first-ever Intelligent Platform designed specifically to predict the risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in the Indian population.
Over the past year, doctors across the Apollo network of hospitals have been successfully leveraging this AI-powered API to predict the risk of CVD and drive preventive cardiac care across the country.
Apollo Hospitals Group Joint Managing Director Dr. Sangita Reddy says, “Cardiovascular diseases account for a significant 30% of the mortality in India. We found there was an unmet need to conduct a study that would analyze patient data to determine and interpret risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases in the Indian population. Building on the success of our partnership with Microsoft that led to the development of an India-specific AI-powered risk score for heart disease, we are taking this collaboration to the global stage in partnership with international organizations.”
“We are delighted to be part of the digital transformation journey with leading healthcare providers, our customers, and partners. AI’s significant role in predictive disease analysis and monitoring will enable doctors and healthcare providers with greater insights into their treatment plans thereby improving patient outcomes. This partnership with Maastricht is a great step towards our vision to engage global consortium partners to scale AICVD API,” Microsoft Cloud & AI Platform, Corporate Vice President Anil Bhansali said.
The goal of the international consortium is to achieve a Standard Cardiac Risk Score. This will enable doctors across the world to identify cardiac risks in patients and design a structured road map to reduce risks, with the aim of a long-term reduction in the global burden of cardiac disease.
