Singapore to use AI tool to boost cardiovascular risk screening

Singapore will introduce an artificial intelligence (AI) assessment tool in early 2027 to help identify individuals at high risk of developing diabetes and high cholesterol – and move them to yearly cardiovascular disease risk screenings instead of once every three years.

Developed by the national health technology agency Synapxe, the Assisted Chronic Disease Explanation using AI tool analyses factors such as age and medical history to predict the likelihood of developing diabetes or hyperlipidemia.

Once deployed to primary care providers, those flagged as high risk will receive annual cardiovascular disease risk screenings, increased from the previous schedule of every three years. The screenings will be subsidised.

According to Singapore's Ministry of Health, individuals identified as high risk by the tool have more than a 75% chance of being diagnosed with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, or both within the next three years.

The ministry said the rollout represents "a shift towards digitally enabled preventive care," enabling targeted screenings based on individual risk profiles.