Heart Foundation invests in AI and smart tech to fast-track treatment for heart patients

Published: 29 September 2026

Treatment of heart patients could be revolutionised by funding research into artificial intelligence (AI), smart technology and advanced imaging, in a bid to ease waiting lists and fast-track treatment.

Today, on World Heart Day (29 September), the Heart Foundation is announcing more than $6 million in funding for heart research and overseas training in 2026. 

The funding will support 38 recipients, including researchers investigating how AI, advanced heart modelling and smartphone video could help detect heart problems earlier, improve the accuracy of assessments, prioritise patients for treatment and reduce pressure on health services.  

Heart Foundation Medical Director Dr Gerry Devlin says AI and advanced imaging are opening incredible opportunities to unlock medical information in entirely new ways.   

“It will help us better understand heart disease, improve detection and diagnosis, and deliver better care to patients,” Gerry says. 

A University of Auckland study led by biomedical engineer Prashanna Khwaounjoo is investigating whether a simple smartphone video of a person’s neck could help identify signs of serious heart problems earlier.  

Prashanna is trialling a non-invasive, smartphone-based heart diagnostic tool that captures tiny movements in the skin of the neck caused by blood flow. An algorithm then analyses these movements to assess the pulse signal.   

“Our algorithm can track skin movement down to the micron level – movements you can’t really see with the eye. Instead of guesswork, we’re using a smartphone camera to record the movement and an algorithm to track it.”  

It could provide a fast, low-cost triage step to help clinicians identify who should be referred for a full heart scan sooner.  

“Our goal is to create a fast, low-cost screening tool that helps ensure limited heart scan resources are directed towards the patients who need them most,” Prashanna says. “For patients, this may mean fewer unexpected hospital visits, clearer information about their heart health and more timely access to care.”  

A second University of Auckland researcher, Dr Debbie Zhao, has been awarded a research fellowship to investigate how AI and advanced computer modelling could make cardiac imaging more efficient, accurate and accessible.  

Her research will explore how AI can recognise and measure heart structures within routine echocardiograms (an ultrasound scan that shows how well the heart is pumping and valves are working), reducing some of the manual work required from sonographers and cardiologists.  

“By combining artificial intelligence with advanced heart modelling, we’re hoping to detect signs of heart disease earlier, make assessments more consistent, and help more New Zealanders access timely treatment,” Debbie says.  

The technology is intended to work alongside echocardiograms, but demand for them has placed pressure on heart imaging services, with patients in some parts of New Zealand waiting many months for a scan.  

“If we can make echocardiography services more efficient and get more information from every scan, we can help more patients access high-quality cardiac assessment sooner,” Debbie says.  

Other projects in the 2026 round of funding include testing medication protocols used by ambulance teams to treat people having a heart attack for more effective emergency treatment, investigating a pill that could do the same job as a pacemaker, and managing blood pressure following one of the deadliest heart conditions, aortic dissection.   

Overseas Training and Research Fellowships have been awarded to three early-career cardiologists to train at international hospitals.   

Dr Amy Colclough, a cardiologist from Dunedin Hospital, will complete a year-long fellowship at the University of Leeds in England, studying advanced heart imaging. 

Dr Rahul Gandhi, a cardiology fellow from Auckland, will train at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, focusing on advanced imaging to improve the detection of heart disease and heart damage. 

Dr Tim Oh, an interventional cardiology fellow from Auckland, will train at Toronto General Hospital in Canada, studying less invasive treatments for adults with congenital heart disease. 

Read more about the newly funded research projects here. 

Investment in heart research is a cornerstone of the Heart Foundation’s work. Read about the impact of our research here.