Microsoft ties up with Apollo Hospitals to combat Cardiovascular diseases

Microsoft India and Apollo Hospitals have set up a National Clinical Coordination Committee (NCCC) for the AI-powered Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score API (application program interface), as part of Microsoft’s AI Network for Healthcare initiative.

The committee consists of leading doctors from Apollo Hospitals; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; and King George’s Medical University, Lucknow.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the biggest cause of mortality in India with nearly 25% of mortalities – amongst the age group of 25 to 69 years. The condition also seems to affect Indians at least a decade earlier as compared to Europeans. Given the high prevalence of CVDs affecting Indians, Apollo Hospitals and Microsoft India, in 2018, launched the first ever AI-powered CVD Risk Score API, designed specifically to predict the risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in the Indian population.

Till date, over 200,000 people have already been screened using the AI-powered API across Apollo Hospitals and in many cases, physicians have been able to predict the risk score of patients 5 to 7 years in advance. Built on Microsoft Azure, the API aims to determine a more accurate CVD risk score for the Indian population taking into consideration risk factors including lifestyle attributes like diet, tobacco & smoking preferences, physical activity and psychological stress & anxiety.

Speaking about the National Clinical Coordination Committee, Ms. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “The NCCC will help us immensely in our fight against the rising tsunami of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). We are also extending the scope of our partnership with Microsoft to meet the growing healthcare demands of people across the country and contribute more towards saving precious lives."

The NCCC will be assisting the core team at Apollo Hospitals and Microsoft by providing guidance on all cardiology and cardiovascular related AI projects; clinical insights on developing clinical algorithm and treatment guidelines based on the inferences of national, multi centre prospective study.

Apollo Hospitals and Microsoft India are already in discussions with renowned health systems across the world to scale the API and contribute towards World Health Organization’s goal of reducing the risk of premature mortality (30 to 69 years of age) from NCDs, including CVDs, by 25% by 2025.