AI cardiac tool trialled in SA hospitals gets assessed by ... AI

RAPIDx AI, a cardiac AI tool recently trialled in South Australian (SA) hospitals, has been assessed using a pioneering AI platform, PROLIFERATE_AI — to determine whether the cardiac tool actually has the potential to assist doctors and nurses to rapidly diagnose heart issues in emergency departments (EDs). Developed by Dr Maria Alejandra Pinero de Plaza of Flinders University and her team, PROLIFERATE_AI is human-centred and uses AI alongside researcher analysis to assess how well other AI tools work in hospitals.

Chest pain is one of the most common reasons for ED visits, with RAPIDx AI designed to help emergency doctors quickly and accurately diagnose cardiac conditions by rapidly analysing clinical and biochemical data. The SA health system has been part of a National Health and Medical Research Council-funded trial being run across 12 hospitals in metropolitan and rural SA, and is currently analysing its 12-month patient outcomes.

“AI is becoming more common in healthcare, but it doesn’t always fit in smoothly with the vital work of our doctors and nurses,” Pinero de Plaza said. “We need to confirm these systems are trustworthy and work consistently for everyone, ensuring they are able to support medical teams rather than slowing them down.”

Medical and nursing staff at the participating hospitals had the opportunity to share their insights on interacting with the RAPIDx AI tool. The results showed that while experienced clinicians, such as ED consultants and registrars, demonstrated high comprehension and engagement with the RAPIDx AI tool, less experienced users — including residents and interns — faced usability challenges. Insights from registered nurses on the RAPIDx AI tool revealed a strong emotional engagement with it, recognising the tool’s potential to enhance patient safety by reducing diagnostic uncertainty.

“In order to understand if the AI systems are viable, we look at how easy they are to use, how well doctors and nurses adopt them, and how they impact patient care,” Pinero de Plaza explained. “It’s not just about making AI accurate; it’s about making sure it’s easy to understand, adaptable, and genuinely helpful for doctors and patients when it matters most.”

Consultants and registrars were found to benefit most from using RAPIDx AI, the study also highlighting the need for targeted training and workflow-aligned interfaces to improve adoption rates among new users. Clinician desires for further automated data integration into the user interface were also demonstrated, with the findings showing that AI in healthcare should always be developed with the end-users in mind.

“Our goal is to create AI solutions that empower doctors and nurses, not replace them,” Pinero de Plaza said. “Technology alone cannot solve the complexities of emergency care. We need AI systems that work seamlessly with clinicians, support decision-making under pressure, and integrate smoothly into existing workflows.”

On the benefits of the PROLIFERATE_AI assessment tool, Pinero de Plaza said that its ability to provide actionable insights sets it apart. “Rather than focusing solely on technical performance, we evaluate AI tools based on real-world usability and clinician trust, ensuring that these technologies are not just innovative but also practical and accessible,” Pinero de Plaza said. “We want to set a new standard for AI implementation, fundamental care, and evaluation standards, starting with emergency medicine.”

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‘Human-centred AI for emergency cardiac care: evaluating RAPIDx AI with PROLIFERATE_AI’, a 2025 paper on this study, has been published open access in International Journal of Medical Informatics and you can read it at doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2025.105810.

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Image credit: iStock.com/Hanna Sova