Artificial intelligence could soon reshape how heart disease is treated, with University of Auckland researchers developing smart devices that respond to the body in real time.

Professor Julian Paton, who leads the University’s Manaaki Manawa Centre for Heart Research, says most existing devices are “free running” because they don’t respond to what’s happening inside the body.

“It’s like a heating system without a thermostat,” he explains.

“We’re saying, how does the body actually work? It works with a thermostat.”

The team’s paper in Nature Reviews Cardiology pulls together global research on how the nervous system controls blood pressure, heart rhythm, and heart failure.

The next frontier, they say, is bioelectronic devices that can sense when something is wrong and adjust instantly.

For example, detecting rising blood pressure and triggering a correction automatically.

Machine learning could allow these devices to learn a person’s normal settings, creating personalised treatments that evolve over time.

Paton says New Zealand has the expertise to lead this field.

“We have engineers, bioengineers, tissue engineers, physiologists, and surgeons who can design, test, and trial these new devices,” he says.

“It shows the value of funding early research to turn ideas into reality.”

Dr Daniel McCormick from the University’s Bioengineering Institute agrees, saying government and philanthropic investment could turn that research into products for global markets.

For the Hibiscus Coast, the ripple effect could reach close to home, with Auckland’s growing medtech sector and nearby engineering talent likely to open doors for local collaboration in future heart research and device development.

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