Researchers study the impact of AI-powered sensor in cardiovascular intensive care

Low blood pressure is a common occurrence following cardiac surgery and is linked to an increased risk of complications. 

The standard of care in intensive care units is to administer fluids and medications to stabilize blood pressure during the recovery period. This method works well, but Libin Cardiovascular Institute researchers recently completed a randomized clinical trial to test a more proactive and standardized process. 

Dr. Alex Gregory, MD, PhD, a cardiovascular anesthesiologist and assistant professor in the Dept. of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine, and Dr. Ken Parhar, MD, the medical director of the Foothills Medical Centre Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, led the project. 

The study took advantage of a recent technology upgrade to a monitor commonly found in intensive care units across the province. Latest versions of the monitor come equipped with an AI-powered smart sensor that can measure blood pressure and provide early alerts about impending low-pressure events. 

 This tool may assist health care providers with decision making, to treat the patient before their blood pressure becomes low, and to guide decision-making regarding which therapies to use first.

According to Gregory, researchers recruited 100 patients from both the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at the Foothills Medical Centre and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton. Patients were randomized to either receive standard care or to be monitored with the early alert system. 

If the alert was triggered, nursing staff followed the recommendations provided by the algorithm to recommend which treatment to apply to each patient. 

“The goal of the project was to see if we could avoid low blood pressure by acting sooner as well as use an algorithm to guide when to act and what to do,” says Gregory. “The idea is to use this device to support clinical decision-making before a patient’s low pressure gets to a critical level.” 

Dr. Tara Klassen, PhD, who is the provincial program lead of surgical innovation for Alberta Health Services (AHS), says the project required a unique partnership between researchers, front-line health care staff, managers and operations staff. 

“This is exactly the type of collaboration that accelerates the adoption of innovation into the health system to get the best clinical and operational outcomes,” says Klassen, adding the work paves the way for the adoption of other similar tools. 

Although the data hasn’t been fully analyzed, early results are promising with patients being treated with the new technology having a higher blood pressure on average compared to standard care. He’s hopeful the data will reveal the sensor results in the optimal management of patients on an individualized basis, the hallmark of precision medicine. 

“This is about giving the right treatment to the right patient at the right time,” says Gregory. “This is an exciting project.”

Gregory says if the final data warrants it, the next step will be to conduct a Canada-side clinical trial of the monitoring system. The group has identified five Canadian centres that have the monitors already in place.