AI can pick up on subtle clues from a person’s physiological state such as their heart rate, the time differences between each heartbeat or the electrical signals their heart produces in order to identify irregularities that point to medical conditions.

“Being able to detect atrial fibrillation just by wearing a wristwatch all the time, that kind of relatively simple technology could actually have a massive impact,” explained consultant cardiologist Tim Fairbairn, cardiovascular imaging lead at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital in the UK.