ACC and GE Healthcare Collaborate to Advance AI in Cardiovascular Care

June 3, 2021—The American College of Cardiology (ACC) announced a collaboration with GE Healthcare through the support of and participation in ACC’s Applied Health Innovation Consortium to build a roadmap for artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology in cardiology and developing new strategies for improved health outcomes.

According to ACC, the Consortium brings together academic, clinical, industry and technology partners, and patient advocates, to collaborate in the digital transformation of health care and achieve trust in the development of clinical evidence and guidance.

ACC advised that GE Healthcare will lend its perspective as a leading global medical technology and digital solutions innovator in connected cardiovascular care to this forum. GE Healthcare’s Edison platform forms the technological basis for the company’s many AI offerings that are an integral part of its advanced cardiac technology used by clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of > 145 million hearts each year.

The thought leadership of the ACC, the clinical depth of the Consortium’s academic and technology partners, and the product development capability of GE Healthcare are expected to define impactful challenges, develop AI models, and put research results to practice through implementation in disruptive clinical workflows.

Further, ACC noted that with the recent challenges of self-isolation, reduction in hands-on medical care, and a variety of unknowns, three main drivers of the digital transformation will impact care. These are 1) a migration towards virtual care, 2) increased remote monitoring of patients via wearables and telemedicine, and 3) AI-driven care, including image interpretation, risk prediction, and improved care decision-making. The consortium intends to be a catalyst in identifying priorities and making progress in specific and practical ways to impact clinical care, advised ACC.

The collaboration will address the challenges related to atrial fibrillation management along with other care pathways in cardiology, including coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and heart failure.

John Rumsfeld, MD, who is ACC Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Science & Quality Officer, commented in the announcement, “We are excited to have GE Healthcare join forces with the Applied Health Innovation Consortium. In our mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health, GE Healthcare is a great collaborator to help build a roadmap for AI and digital technology that bridges gaps in clinical care.”

Eigil Samset, Chief Technology Scientist for Cardiology Solutions at GE Healthcare, added, “We are eager to help shape the heart care pathway—from early detection to treatment to follow-up at home—by combining our expertise in AI and digital technologies with top clinical leadership to advance risk prediction and decision-making support. Ultimately, this will enable precision health, which is doing the right thing, at the right time for every patient, at scale—with the ultimate goal to provide better outcomes, delivered to more people, more cost-efficiently.”