A patient ready for an electrocardiogram test. The UK's NHS will collect heart data for analysts using AI which will provide insights into possible dangers patients may face. Getty
A patient ready for an electrocardiogram test. The UK's NHS will collect heart data for analysts using AI which will provide insights into possible dangers patients may face. Getty
A patient ready for an electrocardiogram test. The UK's NHS will collect heart data for analysts using AI which will provide insights into possible dangers patients may face. Getty
A patient ready for an electrocardiogram test. The UK's NHS will collect heart data for analysts using AI which will provide insights into possible dangers patients may face. Getty

Britain's NHS to trial ‘superhuman’ AI system that predicts early death risk


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

The UK's National Health Service is set to test a new artificial intelligence model that is designed to predict a patient’s risk of disease and early death.

The technology uses the readings of a common and easily available heart test to alert doctors to patients who may benefit from further tests or treatment. The programme will be launched next year and will be used across the NHS within five years.

The AI-ECG risk estimation, or Aire, was developed to assess the results of electrocardiogram (ECG) tests, which record the electrical activity of the heart and are given to patients suspected of having heart problems.

It then uses these recordings to detect problems with the structure of the heart that doctors would not be able to see.

The technology will be tested at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust from the middle of 2025, with other hospital sites to be confirmed.

“There are three or four different studies that are going to run across hospitals from the middle of next year,” Dr Fu Siong Ng, a reader in cardiac electrophysiology at Imperial College London and consultant cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said.

“They are broadly to test that these models are accurate in diagnoses. So, people who would already have an ECG at the hospital, we would test that these models are accurate in picking up certain diagnoses.

“Then, the next layer, once that’s been shown, we can intervene to show that we can change the trajectory of the patients.”

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It is understood several hundred patients will be recruited for the first trial, with numbers then increased for following studies.

“The vision is every ECG that will be done in hospital will be put through the model,” Dr Ng added.

“So, anyone who has an ECG anywhere in the NHS in 10 years’ time, or five years’ time, would be put through the models and the clinicians will be informed, not just about what the diagnosis is, but a prediction of a whole range of health risks, which means that we can then intervene early and prevent disease.

“If, for example, it says you’re at high risk of a specific heart rhythm problem, you could be more aggressive in preventive treatment to stop it from happening. There are some linked to weight, so you can put those patients through weight loss programmes.

“You might even think about earlier medical treatments to prevent things from progressing, but that will be the subject of the clinical studies that we plan to do.”

Dr Arunashis Sau, a British Heart Foundation (BHF) clinical research fellow at Imperial College London’s National Heart and Lung Institute and cardiology registrar at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said the aim of the Aire is not to develop something to replace doctors, but to create something “superhuman”.

“The goal here is to try to use the ECG as a way to identify people that are at higher risk, who will then maybe benefit from other tests that could tell us more about what’s going on,” he said.

“ECG is a very common and very cheap test, but that could then be used to guide more detailed testing that could then change how we manage patients and potentially reduce the risk of anything bad happening.

“One key distinction is that the goal here was to do something that was superhuman – so not replace or speed up something that a doctor could do, but to do something that a doctor cannot do from looking at heart tracing.”

Research published in Lancet Digital Health found Aire was able to correctly identify a patient’s risk of death in the 10 years following the ECG, from high to low, in 78 per cent of cases.

For the study, the team trained Aire using a data set of 1.16 million ECG test results from 189,539 patients.

The platform could also predict heart failure in 79 per cent of cases, serious heart rhythm problems in 76 per cent of cases, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease – where the arteries narrow, making blood flow difficult – in 70 per cent of cases.

“We know that not only doctors, but patients, need to trust AI. And that’s a big part of the work that we did here,” Dr Sau said.

“What we found is that AI could pick up things to do with the patient’s heart structure and function, and even things as deep as genetic information were being picked up that the AI could be using in combination to find out that these people might be at higher risk, and these are things that are not apparent to human clinicians.”

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Rating: 4/5

Tips on buying property during a pandemic

Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.

While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.

While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar. 

Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.

Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities. 

Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong. 

Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.

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Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

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Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics

 

Wayne Rooney's career

Everton (2002-2004)

  • Appearances: 48
  • Goals: 17
     

Manchester United (2004-2017)

  • Appearances: 496
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England (2003-)

  • Appearances: 119
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Types of policy

Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.

Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.

Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.

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FA CUP FINAL

Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')

Watford 0

Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

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The biog

From: Upper Egypt

Age: 78

Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila

Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace

Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace

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Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.

ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group

Profile Idealz

Company: Idealz

Founded: January 2018

Based: Dubai

Sector: E-commerce

Size: (employees): 22

Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.

7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m.

8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m.

8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m.

9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.

10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m.

Updated: October 23, 2024, 10:30 PM