AI-ECG for Preoperative Cardiovascular Risk Stratification Before General Surgery

August 17, 2026 updated by: Seoul National University Bundang Hospital

Utilization of AI-ECG for Preoperative Cardiovascular Risk Stratification in General Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial evaluates whether an artificial intelligence-enhanced electrocardiography (AI-ECG)-based strategy for preoperative cardiovascular risk stratification is noninferior to usual care in patients undergoing elective general surgery. Eligible patients are randomly assigned to either an AI-ECG-guided preoperative assessment strategy or usual preoperative care.

The primary outcome is the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) within 30 days after surgery, defined as a composite of all-cause death, ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia or cardiac arrest, non-fatal myocardial infarction, unplanned revascularization (PCI or CABG), mechanical ventilation for ≥3 days, and acute heart failure requiring intravenous diuretics.

Secondary outcomes include the rate of preoperative cardiac imaging and functional testing (echocardiography, coronary CT, SPECT, stress test), the rate of preoperative cardiology consultation, length of hospital stay, direct medical costs, and the time required for preoperative evaluation. The study aims to determine whether AI-ECG can safely guide preoperative cardiovascular evaluation while reducing unnecessary testing, resource use, and cost.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
3200

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • South Korea
    • Gyeonggido
      • Seongnam-si, Gyeonggido, South Korea, 13620
        • Seoul National University Bundang Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged 20 years or older
  • Patients scheduled for elective (non-emergent) general surgery
  • Willing and able to provide voluntary written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Emergency surgery
  • Surgery under local anesthesia

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: AI-ECG-guided preoperative strategy
Patients undergo preoperative cardiovascular risk stratification guided by the output of the AI-ECG device (ECG Buddy). Further preoperative cardiovascular evaluation and cardiology consultation are directed according to the AI-ECG-based assessment.
Diagnostic test: AI-ECG-based preoperative risk stratification (ECG Buddy)
A standard 12-lead ECG is analyzed by an AI-enhanced ECG algorithm (ECG Buddy) to stratify preoperative cardiovascular risk. Designated AI-ECG biomarkers are used as decision thresholds to guide subsequent preoperative cardiovascular evaluation and cardiology consultation.
No Intervention: Usual care
Patients receive usual preoperative care for cardiovascular evaluation according to standard institutional practice, without use of the AI-ECG-based strategy.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) within 30 days after surgery
Time Frame: Within 30 days after surgery
Composite of all-cause death, ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia or cardiac arrest, non-fatal myocardial infarction, unplanned revascularization (PCI or CABG), mechanical ventilation for ≥3 days, and acute heart failure requiring intravenous diuretics.
Within 30 days after surgery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rate of preoperative cardiac imaging and functional testing
Time Frame: From randomization to surgery, up to 24 weeks
Proportion of patients undergoing preoperative echocardiography, coronary CT, SPECT, or stress testing.
From randomization to surgery, up to 24 weeks
Rate of preoperative cardiology consultation
Time Frame: From randomization to surgery, up to 24 weeks
From randomization to surgery, up to 24 weeks
Length of hospital stay
Time Frame: Through hospital discharge (up to 30 days)
Through hospital discharge (up to 30 days)
Direct medical costs
Time Frame: Within 30 days after surgery
Within 30 days after surgery
Time required for preoperative evaluation
Time Frame: From randomization to surgery, up to 24 weeks
From randomization to surgery, up to 24 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Seoul National University Bundang Hospital

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ji Hyun Lee, MD, Seul National University Bundang Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 31, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 19, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 17, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • B-2603-1033-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared. De-identified data may be made available upon reasonable request to the principal investigator, subject to institutional and ethics committee approval.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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