Hong Kong University’s medical school has introduced the city’s first AI-powered tool designed to predict cardiovascular diseases. Named P-CARDIAC, which stands for Personalized Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment for Chinese, this tool can determine an individual’s risk of developing heart disease within the next decade in just seconds.
According to the Centre for Health Protection, heart disease was the third leading cause of death in Hong Kong last year, following cancer and pneumonia.
The prediction model is based on health records sourced from the Hospital Authority. Assistant Professor Celine Chui emphasized that existing models in other countries may not be relevant for Hong Kong’s population. “Healthcare systems vary widely across jurisdictions, affecting access to services,” she explained.
“The primary reason this model is well-suited for Hong Kong is that it uses local data, reflecting the actual health landscape here.”
Chui expressed hope that P-CARDIAC could enhance patient risk assessment and help address manpower shortages in the public healthcare sector.
This year, a two-year study will commence to evaluate the effectiveness of P-CARDIAC. The study aims to recruit 3,000 patients with cardiovascular issues from six public hospitals.
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