Healthtech startup Tricog and AstraZeneca India roll out Project Heart Beat
Aimed at addressing unmet needs of early diagnosis and intervention for patients prone to heart attack, Project Heart Beat leverages AI to interpret ECGs and guide patients to the nearest Cath Labs or fibrinolysis centres to ensure timely treatment.
Biopharmaceutical company
India and healthtech startup on Tuesday rolled out Project Heart Beat, a programme that focuses on early and accurate diagnosis of heart attacks to reduce mortality rates.Aimed at addressing unmet needs of early diagnosis and intervention for patients prone to heart attack, it leverages artificial intelligence (AI) for interpretation of electrocardiograms (ECGs) to guide patients to the nearest Cath Labs or fibrinolysis centres to ensure timely treatment.
Gagan Singh Bedi, Managing Director of AstraZeneca India, said, “As the young population is also prone to heart attack these days, it is vital that we arrange facilities for early diagnosis and treatment in rural parts of the country that don’t have easy access to modern healthcare facilities. The key objectives of this programme include early and accurate diagnosis of MI patients, reducing the door to balloon time or needle time, and making necessary drugs available at the primary care centres.”
Deployed in Tier I and II cities, the programme has impacted over 13,000 patients. Those identified with abnormal ECGs were then referred to respective tertiary care hospitals as well. This initiative also aims to upskill physicians and technicians at primary and secondary care centres.
Charit Bograj, CEO of Tricog, said, “India has one of the highest burdens of cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide. Data by the Indian Council of Medical Research indicates that it takes more than six hours to reach a hospital in more than half the cases of heart attacks, and unfortunately, many are losing their loved ones due to the delay in diagnosis and treatment.”
At present, the project has eight major hubs equipped to treat heart attack patients which include Sanjeevan Medical Center in Karad, Maharashtra; Metro Heart Hospital in Faridabad, Delhi-NCR; Spandan Hospital in Bhopal; CKS Hospital in Jaipur; Lifeline Hospital in Thane, Maharasthra; and BKL Walawalakar Rural Medical College in Kasarwadi, Maharashtra.
It plans on expanding across India in the coming months.
Edited by Kanishk Singh