Alibaba unveils game-changing AI model for diagnosing emergency chest pain 

Chinese tech giant Alibaba has released an AI model that is set to revolutionize the diagnosis of emergency chest pain.

According to a press release by the company on 8 September, the AI model can determine the cause of chest pain within seconds, thus reducing the diagnosis time and increasing chances of survival significantly. 

Curbing a major killer 

Emergency chest pain, also known as Acute Aortic Syndrome (AAS) is a life-threatening cardiovascular condition that often presents with subtle onset and rapid progression.

If not promptly diagnosed and treated within 24 hours, AAS can have mortality as high as 30%, hence the need for a solution.

Known as iAorta, the AI model was developed by Alibaba DAMO Academy (“DAMO”) in collaboration with The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine.

iAorta can detect AAS within seconds using routine non-contrast CT scans, reducing the overall time to diagnosis within two hours. 

Dr. Zhang Hongkun, Director of the Vascular Surgery Department at The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, stated: 

“We are thrilled to work with Alibaba to promote this AI technology, as it can greatly benefit hospitals where medical resources and physician expertise are relatively limited. Our goal is to improve the overall diagnostic and treatment capabilities for aortic diseases across all healthcare institutions.”

So far, the model has identified 21 AAS cases out of over 10,000 cases of chest pain, all of which have been successfully treated due to early detection. 

Following the success, the model has also been deployed in 10 pilot hospitals across Zhejiang Province in China, with plans to expand to more hospitals nationwide in the near future. 

Alibaba leading in AI development

Alibaba has made much progress in AI development, playing a key role in putting China ahead when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Earlier this year, the company released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 AI model said to beat DeepSeek, another AI model of Chinese origin.