Shen’s AI health and AI glossary
Monitor 27+ health metrics such as blood pressure, BMI, Heart Rate, and others with Shen’s AI and camera-based SDK.
A body shape index (ABSI) considers variables such as sex, age, height, body mass, and waist circumference to generate a certain value. When calculated, a higher ABSI indicates a higher amount of abdominal fat versus other parts of the body.
Providers are well-versed in monitoring the health and wellness of their patients, but artificial intelligence (AI) health monitoring provides an opportunity to further enhance patient care.
AI health screenings encompass a wide array of different technologies and use cases. Smartphone-based AI technologies can be particularly helpful in remotely collecting and assessing patient data. These platforms leverage machine learning algorithms to analyze the information, allowing for remote screening for many diseases and conditions.
An arrhythmia refers to an irregular heartbeat, meaning that there is a change to the rhythm and rate in which your heart beats. This can mean the heart beats too slow, too fast, or abnormally. While it is normal for someone’s heart rate to fluctuate with daily activities such as sleeping and exercise, frequent abnormal heart rhythms could indicate a greater issue. This would mean the heart isn’t pumping adequate blood to the rest of the body.
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) happens when plaque builds up within the walls of someone’s arteries. The arteries are important because they are what transport oxygen-rich blood to different parts of the body. When plaques made up of cholesterol, fat, and other substances form, the arterial walls get harder and thicker.
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) happens when plaque builds up within the walls of someone’s arteries.
The nervous system is divided into two different sub-systems, which includes your central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system can be further divided into two subparts: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
Someone’s basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the minimum amount of calories that someone’s body requires to function. This number of calories is necessary to support bodily processes like blood circulation, breathing, and body temperature.
Blood oxygen saturation is the amount of oxygen that is in your blood. As we know, oxygen is essential to functioning and staying alive, and our blood is what transports oxygen throughout the body.
Blood pressure measures the amount of pressure your blood exerts within the arteries. This pressure is necessary for each heartbeat, as it helps to transport blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients throughout.
While other measurements like BMI can certainly be informative, they don’t capture all aspects of weight and health. Indicators like body fat percentage can be a bit more useful, as it helps to distinguish the ratio between lean muscle and fat mass.
Body mass index (BMI) is a calculation taken by dividing somebody’s body weight (in kilograms) by the square of their height (in meters).
Body roundness index (BRI) is a calculation that includes someone’s height, weight, and waist circumference. Like some other indicators, it gives a clearer picture as to how fat is distributed throughout one’s body.
Your breathing rate, also referred to as your respiratory rate, refers to the number of breaths you take each minute. A normal breathing rate will vary depending on someone’s age, but for adults over the age of 18, a typical breathing rate is around 12 to 20 breaths per minute. To measure your breathing rate, you can count how many breaths you take in a single minute or count for 30 seconds and then multiply the result by two.
Cardiac workload, also known as myocardial workload, measures how much stress is put on the heart muscle.
Cardiovascular events refer to any incidents that cause life-threatening damage to the heart or blood vessels. The cardiovascular system is essential to circulating blood throughout the body, helping to deliver oxygen, nutrients, and hormones while also removing waste products like carbon dioxide. Any obstruction or disruption to this process can have severe implications, particularly cardiovascular events, like:
A cardiac risk score provides insight into your future risk for cardiovascular disease. For example, it can estimate the chances that you will have a stroke, heart attack, coronary artery disease, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and more.
Computer vision is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that leverages machine learning and neural networks to teach technology how to interpret digital images and videos. Computer vision uses algorithms, data, and cameras to assess a visual image and make an assessment based on that image. Common examples of computer vision tasks include things like image classification, object detection, object tracking, and image retrieval.
Conicity index (CI) is another indicator of weight and overall health. Experts created the conicity index as a way to evaluate obesity and body fat distribution. To do so, the equation considers waist circumference, weight, and height.
Coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease or ischemic heart disease, refers to a condition in which the blood supply to the heart is blocked or disrupted by buildup of fatty deposits in the coronary arteries.
Coronary heart disease is a type of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Coronary artery disease is a form of heart disease that happens when the arteries don’t deliver adequate oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that is incredibly common, affecting as many as 37.3 million people in the US alone. This accounts for 11.3% of the population, and as many as 25% of individuals over the age of 65 have diabetes.
Diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas can’t make enough insulin or when the body does not respond appropriately to the insulin it produces. Insulin is essential to regulating blood sugar. Thus, individuals with diabetes tend to have uncontrolled blood sugar levels when left untreated. As many as 14 percent of individuals over the age of 18 are expected to have diabetes.
Edge processing is a term referring to running AI algorithms and data processing locally on edge devices. This means that the devices are on the “edge” of the network, in close proximity to where the data is generated. This is different than when using centralized cloud servers, where processing occurs somewhere else.
AI health monitoring like Shen.AI can integrate remote photoplethysmography (rPPG), remote ballistocardiography (rBCG), and a facial video to generate key insights remotely. With a simple video scan of your face, your smartphone camera “sees” your face, capturing a video that rPPG and rBCG can then analyze.
Fatal stroke risk assesses the likelihood of someone experiencing a stroke that results in death. A stroke happens when the blood flow to the brain is blocked (ischemic stroke) or when sudden bleeding occurs within the brain (hemorrhagic stroke).
Glycated hemoglobin is also often referred to as your hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c). This is a measure of someone’s average blood sugar levels within the past two to three months. Someone’s blood sugar (or glucose) levels is important to track, as it can be an indicator of uncontrolled blood sugar levels.
Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart muscle struggles to pump enough blood throughout the body, restricting the amount of blood and oxygen that reaches the organs and tissues. In essence, the heart is unable to keep up with its workload.
Heart failure (HF), is a serious and chronic disease in which the heart muscle struggles to pump blood. With heart failure, blood can accumulate and cause fluid buildup within the lungs.
An essential aspect of minimizing the risk of cardiovascular disease is through monitoring heart health and managing risk factors. Things like physical activity, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, and sleep quality can all contribute to heart health.
Heart rate describes the number of times your heart beats per minute, oftentimes also referred to as your pulse. You can actually check your heart rate yourself by feeling your pulse in your wrist, inside of the elbow, side of the neck, or top of the foot. The number of beats in 60 seconds will communicate your resting heart rate.
Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the timing differences between your heartbeats. It varies from heart rate because instead of counting the number of beats, it counts the time between each beat in milliseconds.
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, occurs when someone’s blood vessel pressure is too high. Blood pressure readings can be categorized in the following ways:
Hypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure, occurs when the force of your blood against the blood vessels is too high. High blood pressure can lead to serious complications, like stroke or heart attack, and even death.
Hypotension refers to low blood pressure and occurs when the blood flows at lower than normal pressures throughout the blood vessels. While a normal blood pressure is typically less than 120/80 mmHg, a low blood pressure is defined as a reading less than 90/60 mmHg.
Insulin resistance, also known as impaired insulin sensitivity, occurs when the cells in someone’s fat, muscles, and liver don’t respond to insulin effectively. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that is responsible for regulating blood sugar levels.
Ischemia occurs when blood flow and oxygen is restricted in part of the body. With cardiac ischemia, blood flow and oxygen to the heart muscle is decreased. This is also known as ischemic heart disease.
Lifestyle risk factors refer to behaviors that can increase one’s risk for developing certain diseases or conditions. Typically, these habits are modifiable, meaning that changing them can improve someone’s health, prevent disease, or slow the progression of a certain condition.
Metabolic syndrome, also referred to as insulin resistance syndrome, affects as many as one in three adults in the US. It encompasses several conditions that increase someone’s risk for diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and other serious health conditions.
Shen AI uses video input from a camera to detect the face and extract physiological vital signs. This is done by analyzing subtle pulsation signals from the skin, captured through remote photoplethysmography (rPPG). However, factors like lighting, skin tone, and movement can affect signal quality—making consistent accuracy a challenge.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is also sometimes referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This term describes a condition in which fat accumulates in the liver. It is important to note that NAFLD is not associated with heavy alcohol use. Alcohol-associated liver disease is a different condition in which heavy alcohol use leads to fat accumulation in the liver.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is also sometimes referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This term describes a condition in which fat accumulates in the liver. It is important to note that NAFLD is not associated with heavy alcohol use. Alcohol-associated liver disease is a different condition in which heavy alcohol use leads to fat accumulation in the liver.
Your parasympathetic nervous system belongs to your autonomic nervous system. Put simply, it is the “automatic” nervous system that regulates involuntary bodily processes.
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD), also known as peripheral arterial disease (PAD), is a slow yet progressive condition that affects the blood vessels. Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of PVD, which leads to plaque buildup within the wall. As a result, blockage, narrowing, or spasms within the blood vessel can lead to PVD.
Preventative care refers to any medical care aimed at avoiding future disease, disability, and death. Early and frequent medical intervention can help individuals stay healthy, detect issues early, and treat health conditions before they progress. Routine aspects of preventative care include:
A normal blood pressure measurement will include two numbers: systolic blood pressure (the top number) and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number). Somebody’s systolic blood pressure refers to the pressure put on the arteries every time the heart contracts.
Remote ballistocardiography (rBCG) is the remote form of ballistocardiography (BCG). BCG traditionally uses scales or beds to detect subtle movements in the body caused by heartbeats. As the name suggests, rBCG does the same thing but non-invasively, typically through use of a device.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can damage the blood vessels and heart over time if left untreated. Hypertension can also lead to plaque buildup within the arteries, which can damage the blood vessels and heart, leading to heart attack or stroke. Unfortunately, high blood pressure is largely asymptomatic, meaning individuals will likely not know they have hypertension until they get a blood pressure reading at the doctor’s office.
Remote patient monitoring allows healthcare providers to monitor the health of their patients remotely through mobile and at-home devices. This can be particularly helpful in managing both acute and chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer, and sleep patterns. This can be done through devices that monitor blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar, and more.
To understand rPPG, it’s important first to understand PPG itself. PPG is tool that measures parameters like heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), blood pressure (BP), and more. To do so, PPG uses a physical sensor that combines a light source and a photodetector.
A software development kit (SDK) is different from a standalone app. Instead, SDKs like Shen.AI function as an engine that you can integrate into any application, service, or website with access to a camera. For example, Shen.AI’s white-label SDK provides a plug-and-play solution for healthcare, insurance, and wellness apps with scalable integration across Android, IOS, desktop, and web systems.
A stress index measurement evaluates the body’s physiological response to stress based on heart rate patterns. During a stress test, a provider may assess vital signs like heart rate, heart rhythm, and blood pressure.
Strokes happen when the blood flow to the brain is blocked (ischemic stroke) or when sudden bleeding occurs within the brain (hemorrhagic stroke).
A normal heart rate falls between the range of 60 to 100 beats per minute. With tachycardia the heart beats too fast and at a rate of greater than 100 beats per minute at rest.
Someone’s total cardiovascular mortality is a combined assessment of multiple heart health risks over time. It considers the probability that someone will die from a cardiovascular-related cause over a specific period of time, such as within the next 10 years or within someone’s lifetime.
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories someone’s body uses within 24 hours. This value includes the amount of calories your body uses both at rest and during activity.
Vascular age compares the health of your blood vessels to your biological age, which can help to evaluate someone’s cardiovascular condition over time. It considers the age of your arteries both big and small. Diagnosing vascular age involves assessing artery stiffness.