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Virtual nurse on smartphone app aims to prevent heart attacks

A virtual nurse named Cora could save lives by preventing heart attacks, research suggests
virtual

A virtual nurse named Cora could save lives by preventing heart attacks, research suggests.


A study found that virtual nurse Cora improved the ability of heart
attack survivors to recognise symptoms. Picture: PA

The interactive avatar features on a new smartphone app aimed at patients who have had a heart attack.

The app provides advice on warning signs, and explains what to do in the event of a repeat attack.

Engaging, fun 

Helping them to spot symptoms and take the right action could save lives, Cora’s developers believe.

Professor Robyn Clark, a member of the team from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, said: ‘We have found in patient education that cartoon-like characters are less intimidating than a video with a doctor in a white coat giving a lecture on what to do.

‘Cora is engaging, fun, and gives good feedback. Patients of any age can answer her questions by pressing yes/no on the screen.’

Recognising symptoms 

A study found that Cora improved the ability of 10 heart attack survivors to recognise symptoms by 24%, and their knowledge of what to do by 15%.

Flinders University School of Nursing and Midwifery‘s Jintana Tongpeth who presented the findings at the Acute Cardiovascular Care 2016 meeting of heart experts in Lisbon, Portugal, said Cora was popular with the patients.

‘They enjoyed using it and said it had helped them to be more confident about recognising and managing heart attack symptom in the future,’ she added.

To make the app suitable for patients around the world, Cora is being given the ability to speak 144 different languages.

 

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