HARROW: New technology that uses software algorithms and a web camera can detect subtle changes in facial skin color that indicate the uneven blood flow caused by atrial fibrillation, a treatable but potentially dangerous heart condition.
“This technology holds the potential to identify and diagnose cardiac disease using contactless video monitoring,” says Jean-Philippe Couderc from the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Heart Research Follow-up Program. “This is a very simple concept, but one that could enable more people with atrial fibrillation to get the care the care they need.”
Atrial fibrillation, an irregular or sometimes rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow to the body, occurs when erratic cardiac electrical activity causes the upper and lower chambers of the heart to beat out of sync. More than three million Americans suffer from the disease.
While the condition can be readily diagnosed, it often goes undetected—either because it comes and goes, or because the symptoms, fatigue, and weakness, are too general to warrant concern. Consequently, it is estimated that 30 percent of people with atrial fibrillation don’t know they have the condition.
Furthermore, while atrial fibrillation is treatable if detected—both by medication and through a procedure that essentially resets the heart’s electrical activity—many individuals with the condition will experience a reoccurrence. If untreated, the condition can pose significantly higher risk for blood clots and stroke.
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