Feasibility of Incorporating Voice Technology and Virtual Assistants in Cardiovascular Care and Clinical Trials

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: With the rising cost of cardiovascular clinical trials, there is interest in determining whether new technologies can increase cost effectiveness. This review focuses on current and potential uses of voice-based technologies, including virtual assistants, in cardiovascular clinical trials. RECENT FINDINGS: Numerous potential uses for voice-based technologies have begun to emerge within cardiovascular medicine. Voice biomarkers, subtle changes in speech parameters, have emerged as a potential tool to diagnose and monitor many cardiovascular conditions, including heart failure, coronary artery disease, and pulmonary hypertension. With the increasing use of virtual assistants, numerous pilot studies have examined whether these devices can supplement initiatives to promote transitional care, physical activity, smoking cessation, and medication adherence with promising initial results. Additionally, these devices have demonstrated the ability to streamline data collection by administering questionnaires accurately and reliably. With the use of these technologies, there are several challenges that must be addressed before wider implementation including respecting patient privacy, maintaining regulatory standards, acceptance by patients and healthcare providers, determining the validity of voice-based biomarkers and endpoints, and increased accessibility. SUMMARY: Voice technology represents a novel and promising tool for cardiovascular clinical trials; however, research is still required to understand how it can be best harnessed.