Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of when an artificial intelligence programme for the detection of heart disease will be widely available on the NHS.

The Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award has provided £123 million to 86 artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The Award was created to accelerate the testing and evaluation of some of the most promising AI technologies that can support clinicians in stroke diagnosis, cancer screening and managing conditions at home.

Some of these technologies being tested could support clinicians in diagnosing and treating heart disease. For example, iRhythm's Zio uses AI to help diagnose abnormal or irregular heart rhythms more quickly. Results from this trial are expected to be published in September 2023.

Caristo’s CaRi-Heart uses AI to analyse CT scans to detect inflammation in the heart and predict a patient’s risk from a heart attack. This could help clinicians identify more people with cardiovascular disease and provide preventative treatments sooner. Results from this trial are expected to be published before the end of 2023.

Ultromics’ EchGo uses AI to help analyse images of the heart, which could diagnose heart failure and coronary artery disease earlier and faster. Results from this trial are expected to be published early next year.