Groundbreaking artificial intelligence technology will be able to detect cardiac distress over the phone
A groundbreaking piece of technology is being developed to help Ambulance Victoria detect patients in cardiac distress. Here’s how it works.
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Triple-0 calls will be listened in on by a robot capable of identifying patients in cardiac distress, in a move to save an estimated 185 extra Victorian lives a year.
Groundbreaking artificial intelligence technology being developed for Ambulance Victoria is designed to pick up on key symptoms and immediately identify a potential heart attack.
The $1.36 million Artificial Intelligence in Cardiac Arrest system will run in the background of incoming emergency calls to detect key words, language and sound patterns of callers that are likely to indicate a patient is in cardiac arrest.
When it picks up on a potential case, the system immediately alerts a triple-0 operator to dispatch a high-priority ambulance and talk bystanders through CPR or defibrillation.
Funded by the Andrews Government and developed with Monash University, the system is forecast to cut valuable minutes or even seconds on emergency responses that could save 185 lives a year and prevent many more Victorians suffering lifelong complications.
“In a cardiac arrest, every second counts. Cutting edge artificial intelligence will help paramedics get to the scene of a cardiac arrest faster — reducing the chance of brain damage and giving them a greater chance of surviving,” Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said.
People seeking emergency help for mental health-related issues will also benefit from a technology boost through a new $350,000 Tele-HELP system allowing Ambulance Victoria to use SMS to initiate a video call.
Face-to-face interactions are vital to ease distress for patients as well as allowing specialist mental health nurses to accurately assess the caller, limiting the effectiveness of the current voice-only triple-0 system.
Both projects have been funded under the Safer Care Victoria Innovation Fund, which Ambulance Victoria’s Centre for Research and Evaluation director Prof Karen Smith said would support improved decision making and paramedic responses.
After suffering a heart attack in the middle of a beach volleyball grand final with his wife and three children watching on last March, Colin Rooney knows the importance of immediate help.
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In a stoke of luck the 48-year-old was saved by friends and the fact paramedics happened to be nearby. After surviving days in intensive care and having a defibrillator fitted in case of another attack, the Sunbury dad this week celebrated a return to the volleyball sand as well as news others can now be saved by faster response times.
“I felt totally fine, but just dropped apparently. Three or four of the blokes in the team were working on me and got a defibrillator from the centre. But there was an ambulance driving past so they got there within three minutes.
“I’m lucky If it had happened somewhere else it would have been a different story.”