How hospitals are driving digital health innovations in Interventional Cardiology?

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality worldwide, with around 20.5 million deaths annually, the majority of which are contributed by the low- and middle-income countries. Statistics from India are particularly alarming with regard to the increasing incidence of CVDs and death in young individuals. The inequalities in healthcare access and increasing healthcare costs add to this burden. The window of opportunity is huge since it is estimated that around 80% of the CVD deaths are preventable. The role of digital health innovations is being increasingly recognized not only in this regard but also to further the precision, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of cardiac interventions.

​Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered diagnostic and imaging tools

​Adoption of AI into diagnostic and imaging modalities in cardiology has been very effective and rapid. AI algorithms in ECG machines for diagnosing heart attacks, heart rhythm disorders, and channelopathies are fairly accurate and sensitive. The use of these machines by the primary response team and healthcare professionals in rural and remote areas has huge potential in addressing the disparity in accessibility of emergency cardiac interventions.

​Latest-generation echocardiogram machines have integrated AI-based algorithms, which improve the accuracy, ease of performance, and data integration of complex echo studies, such as volumetric analysis/3D echo/stress echo. This has far-reaching implications with regard to improving accuracy and effective utilisation of skilled manpower.

​Traditional cardiovascular risk assessment algorithms were time and labour-intensive. Application of AI-based systems in risk assessment, while incorporating traditional tools with data-driven analytics, brings in efficiency and accuracy to the process.

One of the recent revolutionary changes that happened was the incorporation of AI algorithms into intravascular imaging (IVI), like IVUS (intravascular ultrasound) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The currently available systems are so refined that they have significantly reduced the learning curve for a novice operator, as well as brought down procedure time with conventional systems.

 

Advances in cardiac CT and MRI have also brought in much operational efficiency in interventional cardiology, particularly structural heart interventions. Integration of CT images to create real-time imaging guidance in the cath lab is expected to revolutionize the way many of the structural heart interventions are being done.

Remote monitoring and teleintervention support

There has been an exponential increase in consumer wearable devices (CWD) like smartwatches, wristbands, smart clothing, rings, etc., and software, which are creating a vast opportunity for early disease identification, particularly heart rhythm disorders. Various studies have confirmed that these devices generate data that is fairly accurate and often provide medically actionable data that was not available previously. These are exciting opportunities for early disease detection and, sometimes, the prevention of major events. Many of the newer guidelines issued by major professional cardiovascular societies have taken this into account.

 

Apart from this, medical devices like Holter monitors have undergone drastic changes with widespread availability, telemonitoring, and telereporting capabilities, often able to integrate with smartphones. Long-term monitoring of heart rhythm has become less cumbersome, convenient, and cheaper with the advent of these systems.

MMany of the newer generation pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) now have telemonitoring capabilities that can be accessed through smartphone applications. This can potentially reduce the number of unwanted hospital visits for minor issues.

 

There are also some implantable devices that can predict the decompensation of heart failure and send alerts so that many of the hospitalisations due to acute decompensation of heart failure can be prevented.

When compared to many of the other medical specialties, the success and popularity of robotic angioplasty systems have not been great so far. The current robotic systems are in the relatively early stages of development compared with established modes of working and techniques in PCI (Percutaneous coronary intervention) practice, which have been developed and iterated upon over the past 40 years. However, the robotic systems are continuously improving. Their scope for more accurate intervention and improved ergonomic working is evident already. Further technological advancements will further improve R-PCI and allow it to be adopted across a wider group of patients and lesion subsets.

 

A key potential advancement that robotic assistance could bring is in the field of ‘telerobotics’.  This could allow robot-assisted PCI systems to treat patients who are in geographically distant locations. This could be invaluable for patients who otherwise could not be transported in time to a PCI-capable hospital, potentially reducing door-to-balloon times in those who are in remote locations.

Data-driven personalisation and precision interventions

Currently, we rely on population-based and clinical trial-based evidence, anatomical imaging, and physician experience to guide therapeutic decisions. However, with the rise of big data, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and precision analytics, there is a paradigm shift toward data-driven personalisation—tailoring interventions to the unique clinical, genetic, and procedural profile of each patient. This approach aims to improve procedural success, reduce complications, and optimise long-term outcomes. Personalised medicine, as in any other medical field, is predicted to impact interventional cardiology as well.

Collaborative Innovation with Healthcare Startup and Industry

There have been a lot of healthcare startups coming up recently, and this has made a welcome change in interventional cardiology, too. Many of the major private hospital setups have partnered with such industries to provide telemedicine facilities. When it comes to cardiology, we have extensive experience with cardiac rehabilitation programmes successfully done in collaboration with such healthcare start-ups. They have efficiently met a large unmet need in the field of cardiac rehab, which earlier used resource and labour-intensive. With the advent of gadgets with telemonitoring facility and dedicated centralised trained medical and paramedical personnel, the system has proven to be very efficient, cost-effective, and improves overall patient experience and outcomes.

Challenges and future outlook

Although there are lots of barriers to adoption, the digital health and AI applications are set to revolutionise healthcare in the coming days. There used to be resistance from medical personnel and systems for adopting digital health initiatives due to a lack of technical know-how, the cost of infrastructure, and the need for collaboration with tech startups. But now, even the governments at the state level and centre have started emphasising faster adoption of digital health upon realisation of its real potential.

Digital Health adoption is, although not without challenges. For instance, Telemedicine, although it offers a lot of opportunities in delivering quality, affordable healthcare, has a different set of medico-legal aspects that need to be properly addressed. Another major concern with regard to digital health,particularly when involving multiple third-party applications, is data privacy. Although there are directions in place regarding data privacy, there is a lot of scope for further refinement. Another major challenge will be the lack of uniformity of various platforms used by different hospital systems in the country.

All these challenges apart, most healthcare experts and the industry believe Digital health will continue to bring revolutionary changes in the coming years. The general population as a whole should be benefiting from these changes, which are going to bring much more accuracy, accessibility, affordability, and personalisation of medical care. The authorities are expected to rise to the occasion, providing the necessary legal framework,ensuring patient rights, and providing general infrastructure and environment.