In a social institution for the elderly and people with disabilities in Bishkek, commonly known to residents as a nursing home, doctors conducted a unique free examination of its residents. Using artificial intelligence, they detected early stages of heart failure.

The study is based on years of scientific research conducted by a cardiac surgery clinic under the leadership of scientists Ishenbai Moldotashev, Damir Osmonov and Asan Nazarov. They analyzed data from over a thousand patients and developed artificial intelligence algorithms capable of accurately predicting the progression of heart failure.

According to Ishenbai Moldotashev, head of the development team, this is a way to diagnose hidden heart failure. That is, the stage when a person does not yet feel the existing problems, but there are changes in the spectrum of electrocardiogram frequencies. Incidentally, this research method has been used for mineral exploration: oil and gold have different frequency spectra.

«I proposed to use this technique to diagnose heart conditions. We showed that compared to the ‘gold standard’, which is the ultrasound method of research, our method gives 85 per cent coincidence», — says Ishenbai Moldotashev.

According to the doctors, the method has many advantages: convenience, short duration, mobility and low cost.

For example, an ultrasound examination costs about 1,000 KGS in Bishkek and requires expensive equipment and a trained specialist. In addition, ultrasound takes a lot of time. And according to the method proposed by doctors, it is possible to detect a violation - diastolic dysfunction - within a maximum of five minutes. It indicates that the heart is no longer coping with its work completely.

«It's all about artificial intelligence. If earlier patients had to travel to the nearest polyclinic from remote and hard-to-reach places, now it will be possible to examine the heart in a few minutes. The received data are sent to the Internet, and artificial intelligence processes them. In this way, it is possible to find out whether a person has heart failure and give recommendations on what to do», — says cardiovascular surgeon Asan Nazarov.  

In the future, the developers hope that the Ministry of Health will help them introduce the method nationwide - they could start with a pilot project in one village or one district.

«The sensors cost about $100, and a telephone is required. Identifying such patients will help to encourage citizens to pay attention to their health, to be examined in time. This will be a preventive measure against heart attacks and strokes», — says Ishenbai Moldotashev.

Diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction is done using ultrasound, he added. But the new approach to diagnosis proposed by the Kyrgyz is not used anywhere else in the world. There is no need for it in developed countries, where every district and village has expensive equipment. And we do not have conditions for ultrasound everywhere, and there is virtually no prevention of cardiovascular diseases in Kyrgyzstan.