Improving heart health through digital technology
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in China. AI Nurse is a digital health app, the result of a collaboration between Novartis and Tencent, that leverages the WeChat social media platform to make it easier for patients with heart failure and other cardiovascular disorders to manage disease progression.
Published on 16/02/2022
Text by Andrew Joyce, Photos by Getty Images for Novartis
Mr. Zhang, a heart failure patient, cooks in his kitchen. Hospitals enroll patients with AI Nurse after treatment for a cardiac event. Patients send regular updates to their doctor via an AI-enabled chatbot, which provides medication reminders and recommendations for diet and exercise.
Mr. Zhang, a keen gardener, gathers onions grown in his yard in Shenyang.
Dr. Yang Gao at a hospital in Shenyang. Dr. Gao is one of 5000 healthcare professionals at over 1000 hospitals across 200 cities in China using AI Nurse to help their patients manage cardiovascular disease progression.
Dr. Gao examines data from the AI Nurse app during a consultation with her patient, Mr. Zhang. AI Nurse alerts doctors to signs of deterioration, helping to determine if follow-up care is needed.
Mr. Zhang and his wife leave a hospital in Shenyang.
