Columbus-based Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is testing an app that can detect potential heart failure through analysis of speech patterns, The Lantern reported Feb. 20.
Patients record their speech in the app when there is no fluid accumulation related to chronic heart failure and an artificial intelligence algorithm analyzes over 365,000 data points. The voice changes when there's a buildup of fluid in the lungs, which the app can detect before the patient does. If the app detects a change in voice, it alerts the patient and medical team.
The app, HearO, is beginning a two-year trial with 500 patients with chronic heart failure.
Wexner Medical Center is also developing a second app created by a cardiovascular nurse which tracks blood pressure and helps patients maintain health after discharge. Rose Chumita, RN, a cardiovascular nurse at Ohio State's Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, invented an app called MyHealthTrack. The app monitors blood pressure, weight and cholesterol to help reduce hospital readmissions.