AI heart imaging markers to track heart aging and stress
Artificial Intelligence Imaging Biomarkers of Longitudinal Cardiovascular Stress
Using artificial intelligence on heart images to spot signs of aging and stress that could help adults, especially older adults, learn about their future heart disease risk earlier.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Kaiser Foundation Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oakland, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11247509 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You or people like you would have past and/or future heart images (for example, echocardiograms) and health records used to train AI that looks for subtle changes over time. The team will apply deep learning to large sets of cardiac images from adults, with a focus on how the heart changes as people age. The project aims to create imaging biomarkers that indicate a person’s cardiovascular ‘age gap’ and rising stress before symptoms start. If you participate, your imaging and clinical data could help improve tools that track heart health across years.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults aged 21 and older—particularly people 65 and up or those with cardiovascular risk factors—who can provide or obtain heart imaging and related medical records are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People without any available heart imaging, children, or those looking for immediate treatment rather than long-term risk information are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could allow earlier detection of worsening heart health and better targeting of prevention for people at higher cardiovascular risk.
How similar studies have performed: Previous work shows AI can extract age, sex, and risk-factor signals from heart images, but using longitudinal imaging to build validated cardiovascular aging biomarkers is a newer area that still needs confirmation.
Where this research is happening
Oakland, UNITED STATES
- Kaiser Foundation Research Institute — Oakland, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ouyang, David — Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Ouyang, David
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.