AI-based virtual voice assistant successfully bridges care gap for heart patients

Clinical follow-up utilizing digital voice expertise helped determine issues after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with a excessive diploma of affected person satisfaction, in response to analysis offered at ESC Congress 2024.

Explaining the rationale for the event of the digital voice assistant for TAVI sufferers, examine creator Dr. Marta Herrero Brocal from the Dr. Balmis General University Hospital of Alicante, Spain stated, “Aortic valve stenosis is widespread, particularly within the growing older inhabitants. It could be handled with surgical procedure or with TAVI, a much less invasive process. Complications might happen after TAVI, particularly throughout the first month, however as a result of an absence of assets, many hospitals usually are not in a position to present the extraordinary follow-up wanted after affected person discharge.

“Based on synthetic intelligence and pure language processing, a brand new software was developed for the digital voice assistant, ‘LOLA,’ which is ready to make greater than 40 telephone calls in 2 hours, permitting us to assemble follow-up info and act accordingly. Results from the TeleTAVI examine point out that we are able to present glorious care nearly, with out considerably growing assets.”

TeleTAVI was a potential, observational, single-center examine carried out on the Dr. Balmis General University Hospital of Alicante, Spain. All sufferers present process TAVI through the femoral artery in 2023, with out language obstacles, had been supplied the choice of follow-up with the digital voice assistant. LOLA known as the sufferers in week 1, week 2, month 1, month 3 and month 12 after affected person discharge.

In these calls, a sequence of questions had been requested, primarily associated to vascular entry and the affected person’s cardiovascular state of affairs. After ending the decision, all the data collected was uploaded to an online platform the place the information had been monitored by well being care professionals who acted the place mandatory.

A complete of 274 sufferers had been included. The imply age was 81 years and 49.3% had been ladies. Only 6 sufferers refused the follow-up possibility. A complete of 1,039 calls had been made, involving 385 hours of autonomous dialog, with a mean period of 4 minutes and three seconds per name. The calls had been accomplished in 94% of circumstances, with the diploma of adherence above 85% all through the follow-up interval. The affected person answered in 89% of calls, with 11% answered by members of the family or caregivers.

No alerts had been detected in 44% of calls, eliminating the necessity for evaluation. Among the remaining calls, there have been 926 alerts leading to at the very least one intervention in 57% of the calls. The variety of alerts decreased as follow-up progressed, reflecting the necessity for nearer monitoring within the early phases after the process.

The digital voice assistant additionally facilitated speedy affected person discharge. Knowing that automated shut follow-up was obtainable, 40.1% of sufferers had been in a position to be discharged inside 24 hours of the process and 32.9% between 24 and 48 hours.

Patients usually had a good response to the digital system. The satisfaction rating was 4.68/5 and 89% of sufferers reported good or superb satisfaction. In complete, 86% of sufferers stated that they might suggest the usage of LOLA.

Dr. Herrero Brocal concluded, “The TeleTAVI examine discovered that follow-up with a digital voice assistant enabled secure and early discharge after TAVI, with a low complication charge and with out growing the burden on well being care assets. Patients know that behind LOLA is a physician or a nurse so they’re very blissful to talk to it, as mirrored in our excessive affected person satisfaction charges.”