#237: University of Pittsburgh & Dell Technologies: Can AI Wearables Predict a Heart Attack Before It Strikes?
What if your wearable could do more than track steps - and actually help detect cardiovascular risk before symptoms appear?
Heart disease is the deadliest disease on the planet. In the U.S. alone it killed close to 300,000 - more than cancer. And it’s a quiet killer: by the time you feel a symptom, the damage is usually already done.
Pengfei Zhou, Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Computing and Information, is trying to catch it earlier - building AI-powered wearables that read your heart continuously instead of waiting for a checkup.
That tracks with something deeper for me: my brother-in-law is a spinal surgeon, and a book called Outlive got him thinking about the “four horsemen” of disease. Heart disease topped the list. He’s been mostly plant-based ever since.
I sat down virtually with Pengfei, Matt de Lima Barbosa (Director of IT, Pitt’s School of Computing and Information), and Adrienne Garber, Chief Technology & Innovation Strategist for Higher Education at Dell Technologies, to talk about their partnership. What emerged is a live case study in what happens when a researcher, an embedded IT team, and a technology partner actually commit to the same problem instead of working around each other.
Welcome to episode 237!
Guests
Pengfei Zhou, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information
Matt de Lima Barbosa, Director of Information Technology, University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information
Adrienne Garber, Chief Technology & Innovation Strategist, Higher Ed, Dell Technologies
Timestamps
(01:00) Inside Pitt’s School of Computing and Information
(02:45) Pengfei Zhou’s teaching and research focus
(03:53) AIoT, wearables, and heart monitoring
(07:04) How Dell’s higher ed innovation pilot reached Pitt
(10:41) Why localized AI matters for health data
(12:18) How embedded IT helps researchers move faster
(13:41) Dell’s role as connective tissue between researchers and IT
(18:18) Combining PPG and ECG signals for better blood pressure monitoring
(21:00) The “Who Not How” Moment: Helping researchers move faster
(25:12) AI, deep learning, and solving real problems
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