The current gold standard for diagnosing heart transplant rejection is a biopsy, the surgical removal of a small piece of heart muscle, which experts inspect under the microscope for inflammation and other changes that may indicate that the body’s immune system is rejecting an organ.
“Combining the availability of EKGs with the support of AI may help identify rejection earlier and save more lives.”
Led by NYU Langone Health researchers, the study explored an alternative method: whether combining electrocardiograms (EKGs)—which record the heart’s electrical activity using sensors placed on the skin—with blood tests could help identify rejection without the need for an invasive biopsy in many cases.