**Google’s AI Can Predict Heart Disease Risk Using Eye Scan**
**A new study from Google Health shows that artificial intelligence (AI) can predict a person’s risk of developing heart disease by analyzing images of their eyes.**
The study, published in the journal **Nature Medicine**, involved over 284,000 people who had both eye scans and electronic health records. The AI model was developed using data from over 150,000 of these individuals, and it was then tested on the remaining 134,000 people.
The results showed that the AI model was able to predict a person’s risk of developing heart disease within the next five years with 70% accuracy. This is comparable to the accuracy of traditional risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking.
The AI model was also able to predict the risk of heart disease in people who did not have any traditional risk factors. This suggests that the AI model may be able to identify people who are at risk of heart disease even before they develop any symptoms.
The study’s findings are significant because they suggest that AI could be used to screen for heart disease in a non-invasive and cost-effective way. This could help to identify people who are at risk of developing heart disease so that they can take steps to prevent it.
**How does the AI model work?**
The AI model is trained on a large dataset of eye scans and electronic health records. The model learns to identify patterns in the eye scans that are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. These patterns may include changes in the blood vessels in the eye, or changes in the shape of the eye.
Once the model is trained, it can be used to predict the risk of heart disease in new patients. The model simply analyzes an image of the patient’s eye and then outputs a prediction of their risk of developing heart disease.
**What are the limitations of the study?**
The study has some limitations. First, the study was conducted in a single population, so it is not clear how well the AI model will perform in other populations. Second, the study only looked at the risk of heart disease within the next five years, so it is not clear how well the AI model will perform in predicting long-term risk of heart disease.
Despite these limitations, the study’s findings are promising. They suggest that AI could be a valuable tool for screening for heart disease in a non-invasive and cost-effective way.
**What are the future directions for this research?**
The researchers plan to conduct further studies to validate the AI model in different populations and to assess its long-term predictive ability. They also plan to investigate the use of AI for screening for other diseases, such as cancer and diabetes.
The development of AI models for disease screening is a rapidly growing field. As AI models become more sophisticated, they are likely to play an increasingly important role in healthcare..
