Suffolk AI experts help create new personalised heart treatments

A pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) company based in Suffolk is taking part in a new drive to help patients struck by the world’s biggest killer – heart disease – by personalising their care.

Cardiovascular (CVD) disease is the most common cause of death worldwide – despite advances in treatment.

Now a group of 33 organisations – including Orbital Global in Stowmarket – have formed a Horizon Europe research consortium which aims to individualise care to heart patients.

The four-year iCARE4CVD project – led Novo Nordisk and Maastricht University – will involve the organisations working together to optimise heart patients’ care.

Using a single database of more than one million patients, AI experts will look for ways to shift treatment from a one-size-fits-all approach to personalised care.

They will look at early diagnosis and classifications, the urgency of the cases and predicting individuals’ responses to treatment.

Orbital Global will be harnessing its digital know-how – and its own patented AI technology – called VirtTuri – to help automate future treatments and improve prognoses.

The platform uses interactive “hyper-realistic” avatars to help patients to understand critical healthcare information.

Orbital Global chief executive Peter Brady said: “Cardiovascular diseases affect 620 million people across the world and account for around one in three deaths globally.

“Despite individual differences in risk factors and symptoms, there is currently a standard treatment plan for all patients.

“Our vision is to deploy VirtTuri within this project, to better understand patients’ individual needs and configure tailored treatments in real time for them, ultimately saving lives.”