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AstraZeneca, Tricog launch project for early diagnosis of heart attacks

Biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca India, in association with Bengaluru-based startup Tricog, on Tuesday rolled out a programme called ‘Project Heart Beat’, which is focused on early and accurate diagnosis of heart attacks, thereby reducing the mortality rates.

It is currently deployed in tier-I and -II towns and villages that lack access to quality healthcare, the company said in a statement. This project addresses the unmet need for early diagnosis and intervention for patients with suspected heart attack by enabling cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) supported interpretation of electrocardiograms (ECGs), routing patients to the nearest cath Labs or fibrinolysis centres, thereby ensuring accurate diagnosis and timely treatment and ultimately improving patient outcomes.

This initiative also aims to upskill physicians and technicians at the primary and secondary care centres to better manage Heart Attack patients, by following the guideline recommended ACS (Acute Coronary Syndrome) treatment protocols and early referral to the tertiary care centers for better treatment outcomes.

“With regard to heart attacks and its treatment, early diagnosis and timely treatment are key. 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, as they don’t have easy access to modern healthcare facilities,” Gagan Singh Bedi, managing director-AstraZeneca India, said.

“The key objectives of this programme include early and accurate diagnosis of MI patients, reducing the door to balloon time / needle time, and making necessary drugs available at the primary care centres. Through this program, we have already touched the lives of more than 13,000 patients and resulted in the early identification of abnormal ECGs that were referred to their respective tertiary care hospitals to further aid in effective disease management,” he said.

For this campaign, AstraZeneca has deployed a Hub and Spoke model, partnering with Tricog Health. Currently there are eight tertiary care centres (hubs) connected to 39 primary/ secondary care centers (spokes), where a 12-lead ECG machines with a communicator device has been deployed. The device sends the ECG readings to the cloud in real-time, where artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms interpret the data, which is reviewed and finalized by a trained medical practitioner, and the response is relayed back to the primary/ secondary care center as well as the tertiary care center in less than 10 minutes.

“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. Here we are trying to bridge this gap,” Dr Charit Bograj, CEO, Tricog, said.

Currently, Project Heart Beat has eight major hubs with all facilities to treat heart attack patients in India. Mint

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