AI-Enabled Stethoscope Revolutionizes Heart Condition Detection in Seconds

Humble stethoscope gets an upgrade: AI helps it detect three heart conditions in 15 seconds

An AI-enabled stethoscope can help doctors pick up three heart conditions in just 15 seconds, according to the results of a real-world trial presented at the European Society of Cardiology's annual congress in Madrid. The paper is also published in the journal BMJ Open. The stethoscope, invented in 1816, is a vital part of a doctor's toolkit, used to listen to sounds within the body. But an AI stethoscope can do much more, including analyzing tiny differences in heartbeat and blood flow which are undetectable to the human ear, and taking a rapid ECG at the same time. Researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust now have evidence that an AI stethoscope can increase detection of heart failure at the early stage when someone goes to their GP with symptoms. A study involving more than 200 GP surgeries, with more than 1.5 million patients, looked at people with symptoms such as breathlessness or fatigue. Those examined using an AI stethoscope were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, compared to similar patients who were not examined using the technology. Patients examined with the AI-stethoscope were about 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation -- an abnormal heart rhythm which can increase the risk of having a stroke. They were almost twice as likely to receive a diagnosis of heart valve disease, which is where one or more heart valves do not work properly. Early diagnosis is vital for all three conditions, allowing patients who may need potentially lifesaving medicines to be identified sooner, before they become dangerously unwell. Dr. Patrik Bächtiger, from Imperial College London's National Heart and Lung Institute and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said, "The design of the stethoscope has been unchanged for 200 years -- until now. "So it is incredible that a smart stethoscope can be used for a 15-second examination, and then AI can quickly deliver a test result indicating whether someone has heart failure, atrial fibrillation or heart valve disease." Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation and consultant cardiologist, said, "This is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century. "We need innovations like these, providing early detection of heart failure, because so often this condition is only diagnosed at an advanced stage when patients attend hospital as an emergency. "Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer." Heart failure -- where the heart is not pumping blood around the body properly -- affects more than a million people in the UK. In more than 70% of cases, it is only diagnosed after they are rushed to hospital. But half of these people would previously have had symptoms or contact with a primary care health care professional, representing a potential opportunity to detect their heart failure. A smart stethoscope could help with this earlier detection. The AI stethoscope was trialed with patients who showed any of three symptoms suggesting they were suffering from heart failure -- breathlessness, fatigue or swelling of the lower legs and/or feet. If found to be at high risk, they went on to have their diagnosis confirmed with a blood test for a hormone called BNP -- which is at a higher level when someone has heart failure -- and a heart scan. The stethoscope project, which was one of the first large-scale AI research programs to be run in British GP surgeries, saw 12,725 patients examined using the technology. These patients, within 96 surgeries in North West London, were compared to patients from another 109 surgeries in the area, where AI stethoscopes were not used. People examined using AI stethoscopes were 2.33 times more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure in the next 12 months. Dr. Mihir Kelshiker, another member of the research team from Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said, "Most people with heart failure are only diagnosed when they arrive in A&E seriously ill. "This trial shows that AI-enabled stethoscopes could change that -- giving GPs a quick, simple tool to spot problems earlier, so patients can get the right treatment sooner." The device, which is about the size of a playing card, is placed on a patient's chest to take an ECG recording of the electrical signals from their heart, while its microphone records the sound of blood flowing through the heart. This information is sent securely to the cloud -- a secure online data storage area -- to be analyzed by AI algorithms, which have been trained on health data from tens of thousands of people and can detect subtle heart problems a human would miss. A test result, indicating whether the patient has been flagged as at-risk for heart failure or not, is sent straight back to a smartphone. A separate algorithm can detect atrial fibrillation, which often has no symptoms and is a contributing factor to one in five strokes in the UK, but can be managed with blood-thinning medications. People examined using AI stethoscopes were 3.45 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, and 1.92 times more likely to be diagnosed with heart valve disease in the next 12 months. But 70% of GP surgeries given smart stethoscopes in the study stopped using them, or used them infrequently, after 12 months. The researchers suggest that efforts to integrate the technology into GPs' existing routines would be needed to roll the technology out more widely. The study showed two-thirds of people identified by the AI stethoscope as having suspected heart failure did not in fact have it, when given a further blood test or heart scan. That could lead to unnecessary anxiety and tests for some people, but researchers point out that for other patients, using the AI stethoscope could detect signs of heart failure which might otherwise have been missed. The researchers stress that the AI-stethoscope should be used for patients with symptoms of suspected heart problems, and not for routine checks in healthy people. Professor Nicholas Peters, senior investigator from Imperial College London and consultant cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said, "Our study shows that three heart conditions can now be identified in one sitting. "Importantly, this technology is already available to some patients and being widely used in GP surgeries." Professor Mike Lewis, NIHR Scientific Director for Innovation, said, "This tool could be a real game-changer for patients, bringing innovation directly into the hands of GPs. "The AI stethoscope gives local clinicians the ability to spot problems earlier, diagnose patients in the community, and address some of the big killers in society."

AI stethoscope could detect heart conditions in seconds

The new device replaces the traditional chest piece with a device around the size of a playing card. It uses a microphone to analyse subtle differences in heartbeat and blood flow that the human ear cannot detect. The study by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust involved more than 200 GP surgeries in London. More than 12,000 patients from 96 surgeries were examined with the AI stethoscope and were then compared to patients from 109 GP surgeries where the technology was not used. Those examined with the device were 2.33 times more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure in the next 12 months, researchers said. Abnormal heartbeat patterns, which have no symptoms but can increase stroke risk, were 3.5 times more detectable with the AI stethoscopes, while heart valve disease was 1.9 times more detectable. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and consultant cardiologist, said: "This is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century". Such innovations are vital "because so often this condition is only diagnosed at an advanced stage when patients attend hospital as an emergency", she said. "Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer." The findings have been presented to thousands of doctors at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress in Madrid, the world's largest heart conference. There are plans to roll out the new stethoscopes to GP practices in Wales, south London and Sussex.

Doctors develop AI stethoscope that can detect major heart conditions in 15 seconds

Upgraded medical tool has ability to diagnose heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms Doctors have successfully developed an artificial intelligence-led stethoscope that can detect three heart conditions in 15 seconds. Invented in 1816, the traditional stethoscope - used to listen to sounds within the body - has been a vital part of every medic's toolkit for more than two centuries. Now a team have designed a hi-tech upgrade with AI capabilities that can diagnose heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms almost instantly. The new stethoscope developed by researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College healthcare NHS trust can analyse tiny differences in heartbeat and blood flow undetectable to the human ear, and take a rapid ECG at the same time. Details of the breakthrough, which could boost early diagnosis of the three conditions, were presented to thousands of doctors at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress in Madrid, the world's largest heart conference. Early diagnosis is vital for heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms, enabling those who need lifesaving medicines to be spotted sooner, before they become dangerously unwell. A study trialling the AI stethoscope, involving about 12,000 patients from 200 GP surgeries in the UK, looked at those with symptoms such as breathlessness or fatigue. Those examined using the new tool were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, compared with similar patients who were not examined using the technology. Patients were three times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation - an abnormal heart rhythm that can increase the risk of having a stroke. They were almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart valve disease, which is where one or more heart valves do not work properly. Dr Patrik Bächtiger, of Imperial College London's National Heart and Lung Institute and Imperial College healthcare NHS trust, said: "The design of the stethoscope has been unchanged for 200 years - until now. "So it is incredible that a smart stethoscope can be used for a 15-second examination, and then AI can quickly deliver a test result indicating whether someone has heart failure, atrial fibrillation or heart valve disease." The device, manufactured by California company Eko Health, is about the size of a playing card. It is placed on a patient's chest to take an ECG recording of the electrical signals from their heart, while its microphone records the sound of blood flowing through the heart. This information is sent to the cloud - a secure online data storage area - to be analysed by AI algorithms that can detect subtle heart problems a human would miss. The test result, indicating whether the patient should be flagged as at-risk for one of the three conditions or not, is sent back to a smartphone. The breakthrough does carry an element of risk, with a higher chance of people wrongly being told they may have one of the conditions when they do not. The researchers stressed the AI stethoscope should be used for patients with symptoms of suspected heart problems, and not for routine checks in healthy people. But it could also save lives and money by diagnosing people much earlier. Dr Mihir Kelshiker, also at Imperial College, said: "Most people with heart failure are only diagnosed when they arrive in A&E seriously ill. "This trial shows that AI-enabled stethoscopes could change that - giving GPs a quick, simple tool to spot problems earlier, so patients can get the right treatment sooner." Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, the clinical director of the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the research alongside the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), said: "Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer." Prof Mike Lewis, the NIHR scientific director for innovation, said: "This tool could be a real gamechanger for patients, bringing innovation directly into the hands of GPs. The AI stethoscope gives local clinicians the ability to spot problems earlier, diagnose patients in the community, and address some of the big killers in society."

NHS AI equipment to catch heart disease in 15 seconds

Stethoscopes equipped with artificial intelligence are being used by NHS doctors to catch deadly heart conditions. The smart stethoscopes can diagnose heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms in just 15 seconds, a new trial found. GPs have trialled the devices at 96 surgeries around the country as part of a pilot to detect and treat heart issues sooner. The stethoscope has been a vital part of a doctors' toolkit since it was invented in 1816, but has now been revamped for the first time since. The extra AI-powered features mean the medical kit can analyse tiny differences in heartbeat and blood flow undetectable to the human ear and also simultaneously take a rapid electrocardiogram (ECG). Experts said the "quick simple tool" could mean patients are treated sooner. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, a consultant cardiologist clinical director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research, said: "This is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century. "We need innovations like these, providing early detection of heart failure, because so often this condition is only diagnosed at an advanced stage when patients attend hospital as an emergency. Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer."

AI-powered stethoscope promises heart disease detection in seconds

Three serious heart conditions detected in just 15 seconds, while the results appear on a phone. The Apple Watch is on the wrist of millions of users across the world. Over the years, Apple has developed algorithms that collect data from the integrated PPG sensor to sense irregular heart rhythms and warn users about risks such as Atrial Fibrillation. Now, a similar approach has been deployed to develop an AI-powered stethoscope that is claimed to detect three serious heart conditions within a matter of seconds. The device, which is roughly the size of a playing card and looks more like a power bank, has already been deployed by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust as part of a nationwide study called TRICORDER. The smart stethoscope can detect Heart failure (HF), atrial fibrillation (AF), and valvular heart disease (VHD). How does it work? At the heart of the AI stethoscope is a single-lead ECG sensor and a mic array that records phonocardiogram (PCG) waveforms, while algorithms make sense of these heart activity and blood flow readings to detect any abnormalities. The device, which connects to a smartphone app via Bluetooth and sends data to the cloud over Wi-Fi or cellular network, can reportedly detect the aforementioned heart issues in just 15 seconds. This AI-driven stethoscope is classified as a Class IIa medical device, which means it is already authorized for regular use in healthcare. As such, doctors and healthcare professionals won't need a written or signed consent from patients for using it either. The most notable aspect is that the trials have produced reliable results. Recommended Videos The device, which has been provided as a replacement stethoscope for routine patient clinical examination to general practitioners (GP) across the country, takes a 15-second recording after placing it over the upper left sternal border area on the chest. The real magic happens courtesy of the algorithms, which are governed by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and have shown promising results. "The statistical performance of these three AI algorithms has been shown to be high and consistent against international external validation studies," the team says in a research paper published in the BMJ Open journal. As part of the initial study, which spanned over 200 GP surgeries covering over 1.5 million patients, doctors examined patients who came in with complaints of fatigue and breathlessness. According to the British Heart Foundation, which partly funded the studies, patients who got themselves examined by the AI-powered stethoscope were roughly 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. "They were almost twice as likely to receive a diagnosis of heart valve disease, which is where one or more heart valves do not work properly," the institution adds. A bright future The core objective behind the development of this smart stethoscope is to detect heart problems in the early stages, so that patients can get the required life-saving medications and treatment in time. Heart failure, which affects as many as a million patients in the UK alone, is detected in 70 percent of cases only after an individual is rushed in for emergency care. Professor Nicholas Peters, senior investigator from Imperial College London and consultant cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, notes that the smart stethoscope allows the detection of three serious heart conditions in one sitting. As for the device itself, it is manufactured by a California-based company named Eko Health. "It is estimated that implementing this tool in primary care could save the NHS £2,400 per patient by eliminating the potential need for an unplanned A&E visit," claims the UK's National Health Service (NHS). It notes that over three million patients have already been enrolled as part of the TRICORDER trial program, and down the road, it could potentially enable healthcare savings worth over a hundred million pounds to the government.

AI has just given the humble stethoscope an exciting boost

The stethoscope has hardly changed in the 200 years that it's been around -- until now, that is. A groundbreaking development involving artificial intelligence (AI) has brought an exciting update to this important medical device, and it looks to be transformative. Recommended Videos Physicians use a traditional stethoscope to listen to internal body sounds such as heartbeats and lung sounds, helping them to detect any abnormalities. But a new AI-enabled stethoscope created by researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the U.K. takes a mere 15 seconds to flag up three heart conditions -- heart failure, heart valve disease, and abnormal heart rhythms. The high-tech stethoscope is about the size of a playing card and can detect tiny differences in heartbeats and blood flow that are undetectable to the human ear. It can also take a rapid ECG (electrocardiogram) at the same time to read a heart's electrical activity, the British Heart Foundation reported. Built by California-based Eko Health, the AI stethoscope was tested with 12,725 patients across more than 200 health clinics. The study found that individuals examined using the AI stethoscope were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure compared to similar patients who were not examined using the technology. They were also 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm that carries with it a risk of stroke. And they were almost twice as likely to receive a diagnosis of heart valve disease, which is where a part of the heart fails to function in the proper way. "This is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century," said clinical director and consultant cardiologist Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan. She added: "We need innovations like these, providing early detection of heart failure, because so often this condition is only diagnosed at an advanced stage when patients attend hospital as an emergency. Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer." Like a traditional stethoscope, the device is placed on a patient's chest, but the AI-enabled one takes an ECG recording and uses a microphone to record the sound of blood flowing through the heart. The gathered data is then sent to the cloud where it's analyzed by AI algorithms, with the results sent back almost immediately to the physician. But the researchers noted that compared to a regular stethoscope, the AI version has a higher chance of returning false positives for heart disease, for which confirmation came in follow-up tests. The key point is that the technology can spot the heart conditions early on and with relative ease, and the rate of false positives should decrease with better calibration and technological advancement. The researchers are now planning to roll out the AI stethoscope to clinics in other parts of the U.K. besides London.

Scientists Boast That Their AI-Powered Stethoscope Only Fails Two-Thirds of the Time

A team of researchers in the UK say their AI-powered stethoscope can detect three different heart conditions in just 15 seconds. It's also, they readily admit, horrendously inaccurate. Placed over the chest, the "smart" gizmo analyzes the rhythms of the heartbeat and blood flow that're undetectable to the human ear, while also performing a quick electrocardiogram, or ECG, which is a test that gauges your heart's electrical activity. Then, all that info is packaged and sent "securely" to the cloud, where it gets analyzed by AI algorithms. However many heartbeats later, a test result is sent to your doctor's smartphone. Its creators, a team of researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, say that this could save lives by detecting heart conditions early on before they worsen -- but the accuracy results make it feel like yet another example of dubious AI tech being stuffed into medical applications. "This is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century," Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation which funded the research, said in a statement. "We need innovations like these, providing early detection of heart failure, because so often this condition is only diagnosed at an advanced stage when patients attend hospital as an emergency," she continued. "Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer." In a new study published in the journal BMJ Open of more than 12,000 patients across the UK, the researchers found that patients examined by the AI stethoscopes were -- when compared with another cohort who weren't examined with the tech -- 2.33 times more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, meaning the heart isn't pumping blood properly, and 3.45 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat in the organ's upper chambers. They were also nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart valve disease in the next 12 months. In other words, it sounds like everyone and their mother is a walking cardiac time-bomb. Or maybe not. It turns out that an incredible two-thirds of the participants that the AI stethoscope said had heart failure didn't actually have heart failure, after they were subjected to followup testing. Whoops. That's a pretty significant drawback, and the researchers acknowledge that this could result in creating some "unnecessary anxiety" for the unwitting patients told they have a failing heart when it's, in reality, quite healthy. This shouldn't be waved aside as an inevitable hapless error -- you're seriously toying with people's sense of impending mortality here. In the researcher's defense, they stress that the AI stethoscope should only be used to check people who're already suspected to have heart problems, and not routinely on healthy people. But what feels most damning of all comes from the docs that used the device first-hand. A whopping 70 percent of the doctor's offices either straight up stopped using the AI stethoscope or barely used it at all after 12 months. A hit among Britain's white coats, it is not. This might indicate that medical practitioners don't find the gadget all that useful, but the researchers take a different view: the docs just haven't learned to appreciate all its amazing quirks yet, and efforts need to be taken to integrate the device into their existing routines. No matter. The creators are already planning to deploy their device to more practices across the UK. "Importantly, this technology is already available to some patients and being widely used in GP surgeries," study coauthor Nicholas Peters, a cardiologist at Imperial, said in the statement.

AI stethoscope can detect heart issues in 15 seconds, UK doctors find

About two-thirds of patients who were flagged by the AI stethoscope as potentially having heart failure did not actually have it. UK researchers say a stethoscope powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can detect three heart conditions in just 15 seconds. The AI stethoscope analyses small changes to the heartbeat and blood flow that would otherwise be undetectable to the human ear. That ensures doctors can identify potential heart problems quickly enough for patients to seek potentially lifesaving medical care. The latest findings are "an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century," said Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, a cardiologist and clinical director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the study. As part of the real-world trial, doctors tested the AI stethoscope against standard care in more than 200 general practitioner (GP) offices. The study included more than 1.5 million patients who had heart failure symptoms such as fatigue or shortness of breath. Patients examined with the AI stethoscope were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, about 3.5 times as likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation - an abnormal heart rhythm that can raise the risk of stroke - and nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart valve disease, which is when at least one heart valve does not function properly. "Our study shows that three heart conditions can now be identified in one sitting," Dr Nicholas Peters, a cardiologist and the trial's senior investigator from Imperial College London, said in a statement. Notably, though, about two-thirds of patients who were flagged by the AI stethoscope as potentially having heart failure did not actually have the condition, the doctors found after ordering blood tests or heart scans. The researchers acknowledged that the stethoscope's apparent oversensitivity could lead to unnecessary anxiety and tests for some patients, but noted that the tool also detects genuine heart problems that might otherwise have been overlooked. They suggested that the AI stethoscope only be used for patients with suspected heart problems, not for routine health checks. However, it's unclear whether doctors find the tool useful. A year after being given the AI stethoscopes, 70 per cent of GP offices stopped using them regularly, the trial found. The AI stethoscope was developed by Eko Health, a California-based health technology company. The researchers from Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust presented their findings at the European Society of Cardiology's annual meeting in Madrid. Despite the limitations, Babu-Narayan said new tools to speed the detection of heart failure are critical because many people are only diagnosed once they arrive at the hospital in a medical emergency. More than one million people in the United Kingdom and 60 million worldwide are estimated to be affected by heart failure. "Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer," Babu-Narayan said.

'Game-changing' AI stethoscopes could detect heart conditions in seconds

The traditional stethoscope, invented in 1816 to listen to the sounds inside a person's body, has been "upgraded for the 21st century" and used in a pilot involving more than 200 GP surgeries in London. Stethoscopes powered by artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect three different heart conditions in seconds, according to researchers. The traditional stethoscope, invented in 1816 to listen to the sounds inside a person's body, has been "upgraded for the 21st century" and used in a pilot involving more than 200 GP surgeries in London. The AI stethoscopes could be a "real game-changer", potentially allowing patients with heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms, also known as atrial fibrillation, to be treated sooner, the trial suggests. Researchers found that heart failure was 2.3 times more likely to be detected in patients over the next 12 months who benefited from the new technology compared to those who did not. Abnormal heartbeat patterns, which have no symptoms but can increase stroke risk, were 3.5 times more detectable with the stethoscopes, while heart valve disease was 1.9 times more detectable. The devices work by placing a playing card-sized monitor onto the patient's chest, which takes an electrocardiogram (EEG) to measure the electrical signals from the heart and uses a microphone to record the sound of blood flowing through the heart. Both sets of data are then sent to the cloud and analysed using AI that has been trained using similar information from tens of thousands of patients. The pilot, conducted by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, could now be rolled out in south London, Sussex, and Wales. Addressing 'society's biggest killers' Professor Mike Lewis, scientific director for innovation at the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which supported the study, said: "This tool could be a real game-changer for patients, bringing innovation directly into the hands of GPs. "The AI stethoscope gives local clinicians the ability to spot problems earlier, diagnose patients in the community, and address some of the big killers in society." The trial compared 12,725 patients - some from 96 GP surgeries that used the new stethoscopes and others from 109 that did not use them. Patients involved in the research had symptoms such as breathlessness, fatigue, or leg or foot swelling, which are all signs of heart failure. Read more from Sky News Has AI passed the Will Smith test? Chickenpox vaccine to be offered on NHS Cost of weight loss drug to be reduced Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation and consultant cardiologist, commented: "This is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century. "We need innovations like these, because so often this condition is only diagnosed at an advanced stage when patients attend hospital as an emergency. "Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer."

AI stethoscope spots 3 heart issues in 15 seconds

A new AI-powered stethoscope developed by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is being deployed in a nationwide study to detect three serious heart conditions within seconds. The device, approximately the size of a playing card, is currently part of the TRICORDER study and identifies Heart Failure (HF), Atrial Fibrillation (AF), and Valvular Heart Disease (VHD). It integrates a single-lead ECG sensor and a microphone array to record phonocardiogram (PCG) waveforms. Algorithms interpret these readings to detect abnormalities. The device connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth, transmitting data to the cloud over Wi-Fi or cellular networks, capable of detecting heart issues in 15 seconds. Classified as a Class IIa medical device, it is authorized for regular healthcare use, eliminating the need for patient consent from doctors and healthcare professionals. The device serves as a replacement stethoscope for routine clinical examinations by general practitioners (GPs) nationwide. Placed over the upper left sternal border area, it records for 15 seconds. The algorithms, governed by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), have yielded promising results. A research paper published in the BMJ Open journal states, "The statistical performance of these three AI algorithms has been shown to be high and consistent against international external validation studies." The initial study involved examinations of patients presenting with fatigue and breathlessness across 200 GP surgeries, covering over 1.5 million patients. The British Heart Foundation, a partial funder of the studies, reported that patients examined with the AI-powered stethoscope were approximately 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and almost twice as likely to receive a diagnosis of heart valve disease. This early detection aims to enable timely access to life-saving medications and treatments. Heart failure, affecting a million patients in the UK, is detected in 70 percent of cases only during emergency care. Professor Nicholas Peters, senior investigator from Imperial College London and consultant cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, noted the smart stethoscope's ability to detect three serious heart conditions in one sitting. Eko Health, a California-based company, manufactures the device. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) claims that implementing this tool in primary care could save the NHS £2,400 per patient by eliminating potential unplanned A&E visits. Over three million patients have enrolled in the TRICORDER trial program, with potential future healthcare savings exceeding one hundred million pounds for the government.

AI stethoscope can detect dangerous heart conditions in seconds

The first artificial intelligence (AI) stethoscope has gone beyond listening to a heartbeat. Researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust discovered that an AI stethoscope can detect heart failure at an early stage. The TRICORDER study results, published in BMJ Journals, found that the AI-enabled stethoscope can help doctors identify three heart conditions in just 15 seconds. According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which partially funded the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 1.5 million patients, focusing on people with heart failure symptoms like breathlessness, swelling and fatigue. A total of 12,725 patients were examined with the new AI stethoscope technology. The patients were found to be twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure compared to similar patients not examined with the tool. Patients examined with the stethoscope were also about 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm), which increases the risk of stroke. AI stethoscope patients were also twice as likely to receive a heart valve disease diagnosis, where one or more valves work improperly. "Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer." All three of these conditions require early diagnosis to receive potentially life-saving treatment, according to the BHF press release. Dr Patrik Bächtiger, a clinical lecturer at Imperial College London, noted in a statement that the design of the stethoscope, which was developed in 1816, has not changed in 200 years. "It is incredible that a smart stethoscope can be used for a 15-second examination, and then AI can quickly deliver a test result indicating whether someone has heart failure, atrial fibrillation or heart valve disease," he wrote. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation and consultant cardiologist, also commented in a statement that these heart conditions are often diagnosed at advanced stages when patients arrive at the hospital for emergency care. "Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer," she said. Nearly 6.7 million people are living with heart failure in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart failure can cause symptoms like shortness of breath, weight gain, fatigue, weakness and swelling in the feet, legs, ankles or stomach. The risk for heart failure can be brought on by conditions like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease-related conditions, the above source states. The AI stethoscope, which is only about the size of a playing card, takes an ECG recording of the electrical signals from the patient's heart. The microphone on the tool also records the sound of blood flowing through the heart. The recorded information is analyzed by AI algorithms that have been trained on health data from tens of thousands of people. The tool then generates a test result for heart failure risk. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! A separate algorithm can detect atrial fibrillation, which often shows no symptoms. Researchers suggest that there needs to be more integration of the technology into general practice, as 70% of practitioners with smart stethoscopes stopped using them after 12 months. The study also found that two-thirds of people who were suspected to have heart failure were found to not have the condition after a further blood test or heart scan. "That could lead to unnecessary anxiety and tests for some people," BHF wrote in the release. "The researchers stress that the AI stethoscope should be used for patients with symptoms of suspected heart problems, and not for routine checks in healthy people." In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Jeremy London commented on the emergence of AI in medicine. "Deciding which protocol is the science of medicine; whether or not that protocol is actually appropriate for that patient is the art of medicine," said the Georgia-based doctor. "And with AI, there isn't a human quality to that at this point, so figuring out how to interface those two is a real challenge." "The AI stethoscope should be used for patients with symptoms of suspected heart problems, and not for routine checks in healthy people." London emphasized the need to use AI as "a framework, not as an absolute, because it can be wrong." "Particularly when we're taking care of people ... we must make certain that we are doing it properly." The doctor said he believes that in the long term, AI will be "more beneficial than detrimental" in medicine. The TRICORDER study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), British Heart Foundation and Imperial Health Charity, and was presented at the European Society of Cardiology's annual congress in Madrid.