---
title: "This AI Can Detect Low Blood Sugar From ECG Readings"
description: "A team of researchers have developed an AI that can detect hyoglycaemic events — drops in blood sugar — in raw ECG data from a wearable."
date: "2020-01-13"
modified: "2020-01-13"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/ai-detect-low-blood-sugar-ecg-readings"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Prosthetics and Devices"
tags:
  - "Diabetes"
  - "diabetic"
  - "hypoglycemia"
---

# This AI Can Detect Low Blood Sugar From ECG Readings

![A team of researchers have developed an AI that can detect hyoglycaemic events — drops in blood sugar — in raw ECG data from a wearable.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ai-detect-low-blood-sugar-ecg.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

A team of researchers from the University of Warwick have built an artificial intelligence they say can detect hyoglycaemic events — drops in blood sugar that can pose a real threat to those with or even without diabetes — looking only at data from a wearable electrocardiograph (ECG).

Patients usually have to prick their fingers, sometimes multiple times a day, to analyze small amounts of their blood for blood sugar levels.

"Fingerpicks are never pleasant and in some circumstances are particularly cumbersome," lead researcher Leandro Pecchia said in [a statement](<https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/uow-acd011320.php>). "Taking fingerpick during the night certainly is unpleasant, especially for patients in paediatric age."

A [paper](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-56927-5>) of their findings was published in the journal *Scientific Reports* today.

The results are impressive. Two pilot studies with healthy volunteers found that the AI was 82 percent reliable in detecting hypoglaecemia. That may not sound like much, but it's about on par with current continuous glucose monitors (CGM) used in hospitals, which require needles to be inserted in the patient, according to the researchers.

The researchers are currently looking for partners to investigate whether their findings can be generalized to larger populations.

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)