From Ancient Codes to the Heart’s Rhythms: The AI Revolution in Healthcare

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AI Expert Utilizes Artificial Intelligence to Unravel the Mysteries of Cardiac Patterns

In Belgium, Roeland Decorte's upbringing in a nursing home allowed him to become adept at identifying the initial indicators of cognitive deterioration, observing minor alterations in the residents' gait or speech patterns. At the age of 11, Decorte's life took a turn when his father, the proprietor and administrator of the nursing facility, began experiencing nocturnal episodes of chest discomfort and intense feelings of imminent catastrophe.

He consulted with a pair of physicians, who after a quick assessment of his heart's rhythm via their stethoscopes, attributed his condition to anxiety. However, his condition did not improve, leading him to seek further evaluation at a private medical facility. Here, a thorough examination by another physician revealed the true cause of his ailment—a small defect in the wall separating his heart's chambers. Had this not been discovered, it could have been fatal. He was 39 at the time.

Having dodged a crisis, Decorte, still in his youth, shifted his attention to his academics. By the tender age of 17, he found himself enrolled at the University of Cambridge as an undergraduate, setting a record as the youngest Belgian to be admitted into the esteemed institution. This unique situation brought about certain challenges: His instructor had to take on the role of his legal guardian, and the college bar had to implement a novel payment mechanism to ensure he couldn't purchase alcohol, unlike his fellow students.

Over a span of seven years, he delved deep into the realm of deciphering age-old scripts, poised for a comfortable life in academia or perhaps a thrilling existence akin to that of a relic hunter reminiscent of Indiana Jones. Nonetheless, the memories of his father's ordeal, and the thought that an earlier diagnosis could have been possible had any physician taken the time to listen carefully to his heart, lingered with Decorte. In 2019, despite not having a formal background in medicine but fueled by the self-assurance that comes with an education from Oxbridge, Decorte, at the age of 27, embarked on a new venture. He established a company with the goal of unraveling another venerable mystery: the intricate patterns of the heart's rhythm.

The health care sector is experiencing a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, but the momentum is hindered by data shortages. At the same time, doctors, constrained by tight schedules, are able to gather data only intermittently. Although devices like smartwatches can track heart rate, they fall short in making precise diagnoses, partly due to their location on the wrist, which is significantly distanced from the body's core organs.

Decorte aimed to create a technology that could continuously and accurately monitor the human body, to ensure individuals like his father could access necessary medical treatment swiftly. Initially, he experimented with integrating sensors into clothing, allowing for vital signs to be tracked outside of a medical setting. Subsequently, he developed a sophisticated exoskeleton filled with sensors to detect various health issues, which garnered some interest from the military, but wasn't suited for aiding people like his father. "I was quite naive," he confessed during our recent meeting in the cozy, wood-lined basement of a quaint café in Mayfair, London. "There was a period of around two years where I devoted myself entirely to this project from a spare room at home, doing nothing but that." However, he continually encountered a significant hurdle: noise. Without a device that could press each sensor directly against the skin, the random movement of individuals resulted in too much interference to accurately determine what was happening inside the body.

Decorte came to realize that sound might not just be a problem but a potential solution as well. During the health crisis, he encountered Erika Bondareva, a PhD student who had developed a method for identifying Covid through sound analysis by having individuals cough into an application. This program would search for specific sound patterns associated with the virus to aid in early detection in others. Bondareva and Decorte collaborated to apply this concept to different health issues, initially focusing on heart-related conditions. Over time, Decorte discovered that he could replace every sensor in the exoskeleton he had created with sound sensors. Ultimately, he concluded that all that was necessary for the technology was a microphone.

Today, Decorte Future Industries, led by its visionary founder, is at the forefront of pioneering a health care revolution powered by sound technology. Through advanced algorithms, this technology is capable of eliminating ambient noise to zero in on the subtle sounds produced by the human body. The market is beginning to see the emergence of innovative stethoscopes and applications that can identify Alzheimer’s through vocal patterns. However, Decorte has ambitions to push the boundaries even further. He envisions creating technology that could potentially detect cardiac issues, stomach cancer, and fluctuations in blood glucose levels, in addition to identifying abnormalities in speech and walking patterns. Rather than relying on a clutter of different apps and devices each targeting specific health issues, he proposes a unified approach. This would involve using the smartphone's built-in microphone to continuously monitor health, with users periodically prompted to place their phone against their body for more comprehensive scans.

Decorte has successfully secured millions in investment and is currently expanding a modest-sized team in Cambridge. The company is conducting clinical trials in India, where an incident occurred with a local physician who initially doubted the legitimacy of the operation. He changed his mind when Decorte's associate replayed a recording, proving his involvement by playing his voice from a conversation that had taken place just minutes before. Impressively, Decorte's innovation achieves a match rate of 99.6 percent accuracy with ECG results, offering the convenience for patients to perform the tests at home using only a microphone.

He acknowledges that the journey has been challenging, yet it leverages his background in deciphering age-old codes as much as it does his newly acquired expertise in networking and artificial intelligence. "At its core, it's about identifying patterns," he explains.

This piece is featured in the WIRED UK magazine's September/October 2024 edition.

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