Artificial intelligence will soon help paramedics recognize heart attacks

When someone goes into cardiac arrest, "the chance of survival decreases about 10 percent with each minute," said Adele Peters at Fast Company​. Time is of the essence. Recognizing that the patient has actually entered cardiac arrest — the first step in treatment — is difficult, particularly if the symptoms are being "relayed by a panicked friend or relative." In Denmark, emergency dispatchers "now have help from AI."

(Courtesy image)

When someone calls for an ambulance, an AI assistant called Corti transcribes the conversation, using machine learning "to analyze the words and other clues in the background," like someone gasping for breath, that point to a heart attack diagnosis. "The dispatcher gets alerts from the bot in real time." The technology, soon available in the U.S., "is an example of how artificial intelligence can supplement, not replace, humans."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up