New prototype app developed by Ensono Digital and clinicians from King’s College Hospital and King’s College London aims to revolutionise care for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients

London, 11 January — Ensono Digital, the cloud consulting and managed services business unit of Ensono, announced it developed a new prototype application with clinicians from King’s College Hospital (KCH) and King’s College London (KCL), which aims to help paramedics and clinicians effectively triage patients who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital. Working together over three days at a Microsoft Hackathon, the team created a working prototype app to assess the risk of brain damage following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The app uses a neurological risk score from an algorithm known as MIRACLE₂. Healthcare professionals can then use this information to personalise treatment to match the patient’s individual needs.

In the United Kingdom, the probability of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is approximately 10%. In comparison, in other countries, such as Denmark, this rate is as high as 20%.

Dr. Nilesh Pareek, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at King’s College Hospital and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at King’s College London, is spearheading work in the U.K. to address this problem, aiming to revolutionise treatment for patients who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital.  

He has organised a programme of research (funded by Heart Research UK) that resulted in the MIRACLE₂ algorithm, which gives a neurological risk score that a cardiologist can easily apply to any patient based on a few simple features.

The new app aims to eventually make the MIRACLE₂ algorithm accessible and useable for clinicians. Patient data like age, ECG scores and heart rhythm can be put into the app. The algorithm then takes this information and uses it to calculate a risk score for a poor neurological outcome. The app remains in development and is not currently available for clinical use.

Over the three-day Microsoft Hackathon, the Ensono Digital team worked with academics from King’s College London to turn this ground-breaking initiative into an effective prototype. The team designed an app that presented the predictive information from MIRACLE₂ in a clear format that clinicians could use to make informed decisions in difficult situations using the data.

The first step was to find a platform that could support the development of the app. After this, the team focused on making the user journey simple and accessible so that any user could engage with the algorithm easily and provide the best care solution based on the algorithm’s rankings. The result was a proof-of-concept web application, delivered pro-bono by Ensono Digital.

The next steps involve continuing development of the app, including circulating the tool with cardiologists at King’s College Hospital to get more user feedback.

Dr. Nilesh Pareek, Consultant Intervention Cardiologist at King’s College Hospital and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at King’s College London commented: “For a long time, I have been concerned about the poor outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In that critical first 72 hours after an incident, care currently looks very similar for most patients, potentially missing the chance for vital investigations into the wider impacts of cardiac arrests on the human body. That is why this app, and its ability to personalise care for patients, is so exciting. It is there to potentially support the decision-making of every healthcare professional, from the paramedics who first treat a cardiac arrest patient to the clinicians who receive them at the hospital.

“Care in the future might be shaped to the patient’s needs: someone with a high risk of a poor neurological outcome, for example, might be treated with targeted and rapid intervention to reduce damage to the brain. Of course, there is more value we can add to the application, but we’re now one step closer to realising how this initiative can deliver better patient outcomes for the U.K. healthcare system.”

Steve Jones, Engagement Director at Ensono Digital, commented: “We’re incredibly humbled to have been involved in such a meaningful project. Over the three days, we worked with Dr. Pareek to move this from an idea to a tangible app – working alongside cardiologists, predictive modellers and statisticians to produce real world results. We look forward to deepening this collaboration as we continue to develop the application and create a solution that has the potential to transform the delivery of care for cardiac arrest patients.”

Sergio Carrilho, Partner Technology Strategist at Microsoft, commented: “The development of prototypes like this is one of the reasons why we run our Hackathons. Seeing this work, which will help people through incredibly challenging moments in their lives, reminds us of the real and positive impact that technology can have on making our world a better place. Microsoft is working across the globe to leverage technology and deliver better outcomes across all industries. We look forward to continuing this partnership and delivering a solution that can make a difference within healthcare, for patients and healthcare professionals alike.”

Helen Wilson, Director of Research at Heart Research UK, commented: “Coronary heart disease is one of the single biggest killers in the UK. Our Charity’s mission is to fund pioneering medical research into the prevention, treatment, and cure of heart disease. We are proud to fund Dr. Pareek’s ground-breaking research which opens the door to truly individualised and targeted care for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. Looking ahead, we look forward to supporting Dr. Pareek’s ongoing work to turn this research into a fully workable application – ready to transform the healthcare system.”

About Ensono

Ensono is an expert technology adviser and managed service provider. Ensono Digital is the cloud consulting and managed services business unit of Ensono. As a relentless ally, we specialise in helping enterprise clients transform their organisation, innovate new and disruptive technologies and optimise their IT operations to achieve better business outcomes. Our dedicated team works across hybrid environments with services that span consulting, mainframe and application modernisation, public cloud migration and cloud-native development. With certified experts in AWS, Azure and Google Cloud and recognised as Microsoft Datacenter Transformation Partner of the Year, Ensono has over 2,900 associates globally and is headquartered in greater Chicago. For more information, visit Ensono.com.