DoM's Dr. Justin Ezekowitz is leading a multidisciplinary team to harness AI to analyze cardiac images for precision health
21 September 2023
By Anna Schmidt, Folio
Every day, dozens of hearts are captured across our province — that’s not a romantic metaphor, but a photographic fact.
Cardiac imaging is the cornerstone of diagnosing, treating and observing the progress of heart disease, says Justin Ezekowitz, director of cardiovascular research at the University of Alberta.
Heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada — one person dies every five minutes from heart conditions, stroke or vascular cognitive impairment. It’s also Canada’s most costly illness, totalling over $21 billion in medical and lost earning costs. Also, those numbers don’t account for the immeasurable loss in quality of life for many with heart disease.
Thankfully, the availability and quality of cardiac imaging have improved significantly over the last couple of decades. But those pictures hold untapped potential for patients, says Ezekowitz.
“We need to take a deeper dive into the images. [There’s] information buried in there that we haven't really appreciated or utilized.”
Now, thanks to the University Hospital Foundation (UHF), Ezekowitz and a multidisciplinary team of researchers are taking on this medical treasure hunt. This year, UHF granted nearly $1 million to the U of A’s Cardiovascular Research Institute, funding a three-year project that will harness the power of artificial intelligence to analyze cardiac images, as a tool for clinicians to more precisely diagnose and treat heart disease.