AstraZeneca Along With Tricog Unveils ‘Project Heart Beat'

AstraZeneca India, a science-led biopharmaceutical company, together with health-tech startup, Tricog, rolled out a programme called ‘Project Heart Beat’, which is focused on early and accurate diagnosis of Heart Attack patients, thereby reducing the mortality rates. It is currently deployed in tier 1, 2 towns and villages that lack in access to quality healthcare. This project addresses the need for early diagnosis and intervention for patients with suspected heart attack by enabling cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) supported interpretation of electrocardiograms (ECGs), routing patients to the nearest Cath Labs or fibrinolysis centres.

This initiative also aims to upskill the physicians and technicians at the primary and secondary care centers to better manage Heart Attack patients, by following the guideline recommended ACS (Acute Coronary Syndrome) treatment protocols and early referral to the tertiary care centers for better treatment outcomes.

Commenting on the successful rollout of Project Heart Beat, Gagan Singh Bedi, Managing Director – AstraZeneca India, said, “With regards to heart attacks and its treatment, early diagnosis and timely treatment is the key. As the young population is also prone to heart attack these days, it is vital that we arrange facilities for early diagnosis and treatment in rural parts of the country, as they don’t have easy access to modern healthcare facilities.”

For this campaign, AstraZeneca has deployed a Hub & Spoke model, partnering with a Bengaluru-based startup Tricog Health. Currently there are 8 tertiary care centers (hubs) connected to 39 primary/secondary care centers (spokes), where a 12-lead ECG machines with a communicator device has been deployed. The device sends the ECG readings to the cloud in real-time, where artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms interprets the data, which is reviewed and finalised by a trained medical practitioner and the response is relayed back to the primary/secondary care center as well as the tertiary care center in less than 10 minutes.

Commenting on this initiative, Dr Charit Bograj, CEO, Tricog, said, “We are glad to partner with AstraZeneca for this project as this is for something which impacts the lives of many Indians.”