Boston researchers have developed a supercomputer they claim can predict with 95% probability if a patient is about to die.
The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has linked monitors on its patients to the system, which is said to be better at spotting illnesses than human doctors.
It is loaded with information about more than 250,000 people from the past 30 years, drawing on this data to make speedy diagnoses.
This speedy disease recognition could allow a quick cure, potentially saving lives as well as predicting patients' imminent demise.
'The big picture is that we're trying to harness the power of big data,' Dr Steve Horng, who is leading the project, told Dailymail.com.
'If you come in, we can take everything we know about you, both in your current visit and previous visits.
'We can compare that to other patients with similar conditions, and predict diagnoses you might have in the future.'
It collects data on patients every three minutes, measuring everything from oxygen levels to blood pressure.
It is also loaded with information about more than 250,000 people from the past 30 years, drawing on this data to make speedy diagnoses.
'We try to come up with a very simple summary of what happened in the past, and what is happening now,' said Dr Horng'
'We integrate everything into our clinical system, and it drives what kind of clinical pathways you go into.'
The groundbreaking research is the first time the 'big data' principles have been applied in this way.
Dr Steve Horng told the BBC: 'Our goal is not to replace the clinician.
'This artificial intelliegence is really about the augmenting of doctors' ability to take care of patients.'
'We can predict with 96% confidence when patients [are facing a high] probability of dying,' Dr Horng continued.
'If the computer says you're going to die, you probably will die in the next 30 days.'