New app picks up signs of stroke risk through your smart device

I wouldn't want this, it seems like it would drain my battery and I wouldn't want video being taken without my control. I never take selfies and I highly doubt most elderly people do. And then I would have to switch the camera from front to back. when I want to use it.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/09/18/looking-early-signs-heart-trouble-new-app-help/678184001/

You do a lot of things on your phone and tablet.

Now, they may be able to something for you — predict your risk of stroke or heart failure.

Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the Rochester Institute of Technology teamed up to use the camera on your smart device to pick up changes in your skin color that are too subtle for the eye to see.

“I call it a useful selfie,” said Jean-Phillippe Couderc, associate professor of cardiology at URMC, who helped develop and now is testing an app to detect the irregular heartbeat of atrial fibrillation, AF. “Everybody takes a selfie and shows their face. … This is a new way of using this kind of behavior.”

The app has been tested in the hospital with people who’ve undergone treatment for AF. The next step is to test it at home with people who have experienced AF to see if the app is as sensitive in a less controlled setting.

The research team received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. By spring, the team will begin to enroll up to 300 people who have been treated for AF to test the app outside a hospital setting.

Couderc and Gill Tsouri, associate professor in the department of electrical & microelectronic engineering at RIT, explain:

Gill Tsouri, associate professor of electrical engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology, is developing the video system algorithm and app for a new system to detect atrial fibrillation. RIT is working with URMC on the project, which received $2 million from the National Institutes of Health. (Photo: Provided by Rochester Institute of Technology)

What does the app do?

The app runs in the background while the person uses the device to do the usual activities — watch a movie, read, scroll Facebook or do email. Every so often, the app takes a 15- to 20-second video. Using sophisticated algorithms, those images can show changes in the face caused by the heart pumping blood. Based on what it sees, the app can infer cardiac activity.

Why is this big deal?

AF happens when the heart’s two upper chambers beat out of rhythm. AF can lead to serious problems — risk of stroke is five times higher in people with AF, according to the American Heart Association.

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Treatments are available, but many people don’t have symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations or shortness of breath, and so they don’t think they are at risk.

Aren’t there other ways to detect AF?

You can have an exam by your doctor, or use sensors that attach to your finger or earlobe. But those require you to do something. With this app, you wouldn’t have to do anything special. People spend a lot of time with smart technology, and this wouldn’t intrude on their day.

Sounds like Big Brother is watching. What happens with the video?

The images are not stored. Once the information is extracted, the videos are deleted.

Who came up with the idea?

Scientists from RIT and URMC regularly get together to exchange ideas, and this one hatched at such a meeting. It has taken about five years to get to this point.

Who is eligible for the study?

Right now, only people who have AF and are treated at URMC will be considered. The researchers want to make sure the app will pick up the signs in people who are known to have the condition, and this way they are able to save money by not having to screen the general population.