AI Slashes Heart MRI Scan Time from 45 Minutes to Seconds
A groundbreaking AI breakthrough by researchers from the Universities of East Anglia (UEA), Sheffield, and Leeds is set to revolutionise NHS heart care. Their new AI tool can analyse heart MRI scans in the four-chamber view ultra-fast, saving precious NHS time and boosting patient outcomes.
Speedy, Accurate Heart Checks with Cutting-Edge AI
Lead researcher Dr Pankaj Garg of UEA’s Norwich Medical School and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital revealed the AI model calculates heart chamber size and function with accuracy matching expert doctors — but in seconds, not the usual 45 minutes. “This automated approach offers rapid, reliable heart health assessments that could transform patient care,” said Dr Garg.
The AI was trained on MRI scans from 814 patients at Sheffield and Leeds NHS Trusts, then tested on another 101 patients from Norfolk and Norwich. Unlike previous AI attempts focusing on just two heart chambers, this system analyses all four, giving a full picture of cardiac health.
Consistent, Efficient Diagnoses Could Save Lives
PhD student Dr Hosamadin Assadi added: “Automating heart function assessments saves time and guarantees consistent results. This will help doctors make quicker, better decisions and improve patient outcomes.”
Research teams are now aiming to validate the AI on larger, more diverse patient groups and across different MRI machines. They also plan to explore how the AI can predict mortality risks from heart measurements — a potential game-changer for cardiac care.
Targeting Heart Disease in Women: Another Leap Forward
The team’s related work has sharpened MRI diagnostics for women, increasing detection of early or borderline heart disease by 16.5%. This breakthrough promises fairer, timelier treatment for female patients.
This major study, backed by the Wellcome Trust, appears in European Radiology Experimental in a paper titled “Development and validation of AI-derived segmentation of four-chamber cine CMR.”
