Zephyrhills, Florida – Artificial intelligence is bringing many changes to technology and medicine. AdventHealth Zephyrhills is now using AI in a new procedure to prevent heart attacks and identify clogged arteries that can lead to heart disease.
Debbie Moore, a nurse, has worked in the Cath Lab at AdventHealth Zypherhills for nearly 30 years. During that time, she has seen advances in techniques and technology aimed at identifying and treating heart problems. She is now part of her team at Advent, the first in Florida to use artificial intelligence-powered procedures.
The team is currently using a program called CathWorks. It uses AI to measure clogged coronary arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and heart disease.
“This actually gives you an image where previously you would only see numbers on the screen,” she explained. “I thought this was very interesting because it gives us a clear picture overall.”
The program shows doctors exactly what percentage of an artery is blocked, which helps determine whether a patient needs a stent. When it comes to blockages, you have to deal with them millimeter by millimeter, which is a high-stakes risk.
“You don't want to put a stent in a place you don't need it, but on the other hand, you don't want to miss a blockage that could cause problems for the patient down the road, such as a severe heart attack,” Moore said.
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Cardiologist Dr. Ghazanfar Kadhim said the program replaces the invasive procedures traditionally used to measure blockages and eliminates the need for blood thinners and invasive wires. I am.
“So one of the most important things is to be able to use this technology more often and more safely,” Kadim said.
Overall, he said, it can reduce burden on patients and significantly lower risks while providing validation data to cardiologists.
“I think this makes it even clearer: OK, this is a borderline lesion that we either need to fix or we don't fix. This gives us second-guessing whether what we're doing is actually right or not.” You get an opinion, so I think that's a big advantage,” Kadim said.
The team implemented the program for a month and used it in about 30 surgeries. They said it is already leading to better outcomes for patients.
Kadim says that while there are benefits to implementing AI, it does not rely solely on technology. You still need to leverage your expertise and training to make the right decisions.
“AI can't tell us what to do. We have to input the data. So the biggest, biggest challenge is how do we input the data? If the data is not entered correctly, you will not be able to enter the proper data. Please answer,” Kadim said.
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