New technology is constantly shaping and improving our world and our health, but Danish first responders have broken entirely new ground in their use of AI to more accurately and responsibly detect cardiac arrest in calls to their emergency services.
Cardiac arrest is a very serious concern, with chances for survival dropping 10% every minute following the episode. However, it is common for the symptoms of cardiac arrest to be confused with other ailments, further decreasing the chances of survival.
Even when first responders arrive on-site to assist a victim of cardiac arrest, it can oftentimes remain unclear as to what is truly ailing the victim before more precious time has elapsed.
What is Corti?
Image Source : mobihealthnews.com
Having said that, Danish AI system, Corti, has been assisting first responders since 2016 by listening to calls made to the emergency line, and using machine learning software to identify the likely cause of the emergency.
While humans struggle to effectively communicate during emergencies, Corti manages to use both metadata and non-verbal signs for communication. It also uses signals within the call to analyse the events and decide the likeliness of a cardiac arrest having occurred.
Features and Working of Corti:
First responders often have to minimize panic while talking to callers, and must simultaneously ask questions to discover the cause of the episode. But Corti works to compare this conversation with the millions of calls that it has already analysed in order to find patterns within the conversation.
- Corti also filters unimportant sounds like sirens and shouting in order to hear smaller, less audible sounds, such as the pattern of breathing of the patient.
- Corti manages to compare these sounds to the others that it has analysed over the past two years, and is able to decide based on these elements to decide if the patient on the other end is in the midst of a cardiac arrest.
- It also filters common words and phrases from the descriptions of the caller to see if they are consistent with other victims of cardiac arrest, and makes recommendations based on this.
- Corti also works in real-time to send alerts to the first responder, reminding them to confirm the address of the emergency, but also informing the first responder of the potential level of the crisis using the information that it compiles during the call.
Advantages of using AI:
Corti can be useful particularly in responding to incidents where the cardiac arrest is mistaken for another seemingly less severe episode. A notable case, recounted by Fast Company, relates the story of a man whose wife called the emergency services after he fell from a roof.
She believed that he had broken his back, but Corti was able to identify the rattling breathing pattern of the man distinguishable over the phone and to note that the man was undergoing a cardiac arrest. It was this which ultimately had caused him to fall from the roof, and his back was not broken. Unfortunately, Corti was in the early stages of development during this incident and was not able to alert the first responder in time.
Current scenario:
Corti is created and maintained by a start-up of the same name. Although the programme is only assisting first responders in Denmark at the moment, the start-up is due to announce plans to roll out operations in the US in the near future. The trouble of this entire project is being taken since heart-attacks and cardiac arrests account for 1 in every 3 deaths at the moment.
However, as time goes on, Corti’s knowledge is growing fast. Danish first responders are well-trained and are remarkably adept at correctly diagnosing cardiac arrest over the phone. They do it with figures showing them to be able to identify it correctly 73% of the time. But recent studies have shown that Corti has them pipped with it identifying cardiac arrests an impressive rate of 95% of the time.
Wrapping it up:
Although there is some fear and suspicion in people regarding the dangers of AI infiltrating every aspect of modern life, there are some bright aspects too. The success rate of Cortisports an impressive record in minimizing deaths along with the combination of human first responders who highly trained and educated in the field of medicine and AI.With proper research and management, not only Corti but also AI, in general, will continue to impress mankind as a whole.