A pediatric cardiologist from Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children is leading a project to develop a novel software that will improve the diagnosis of heart conditions with a single test. Dr. Andras Bratincsak and his team at Kai Tech, LLC, recently earned a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Award, based on a prototype, to continue working on this medical breakthrough in collaboration with Hawaii Pacific Health (HPH) and the University of Hawaii.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Hawaii and across the nation. One essential tool in diagnosis is the electrocardiogram (EKG), which is widely used to test the electrical activity of the heart. According to Dr. Bratincsak, the current software provides readings based on limited information. This new software could revolutionize the results of EKG tests by identifying diseases in individuals, whether they have symptoms or not. The more comprehensive results could especially benefit people in rural areas who may not have access to experts specially trained in interpreting EKG tests.
“The software will improve the accuracy of EKG evaluation and the diagnosis of heart conditions and will positively affect the health of the community in Hawaii. In addition, it may have the capability to be used universally in the United States and the world,” said Dr. Bratincsak, founder of Kai Tech and medical director of Kapiolani’s Pediatric Heart Center. “It will help in large-scale screening for cardiac disorders and in the treatment of teenagers and young adults who could be at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.”
The key to this software is the large database of EKG results that serves as the foundation of all analysis. Dr. Bratincsak and his team pulled information from more than 100,000 scans from both healthy patients and patients with heart conditions in Hawaii and across the nation. They looked for variables and turned them into statistical standards, known as Z-scores, which objectively measure various markers in EKGs using a now patented methodology created by Kai Tech. The final algorithm combines unique machine-learning models and the patented technology to create unprecedented accuracy in EKG analysis.
In preliminary assessments, this model of analysis was able to accurately predict the age and gender of the person only by the EKG. It also was able to diagnose certain heart conditions, including Kawasaki disease, athlete’s heart and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome – which are not effectively detected by current software.
Kai Tech is working closely with HPH and UH to develop and test the software, which will work in conjunction with current EKG machines’ existing programming for a more seamless integration.
“This game-changing advancement that Dr. Bratincsak and his team are spearheading is projected to have a significant impact on the future of medicine” said Dr. Leslie Chun, Hawaii Pacific Health Medical Group CEO. “Through this work, Dr. Bratincsak’s commitment to heart care will improve patient outcomes for the better. We believe this software will lead to lifesaving care.”
Dr. Bratincsak leads the project, along with Kai Tech’s three expert teams. The software development team is under the direction of Micah Ewing, HPH director of technical architecture and innovation. Anders Høst-Madsen from UH College of Engineering leads the computer engineering team, and the medical expert team is led by Dr. James Perry, a world-renowned pediatric electrophysiologist and former president of the Pediatric & Adult Congenital Electrophysiology Society.