Researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust have developed an AI-enhanced stethoscope that can diagnose heart failure, heart valve disease, and abnormal heart rhythms in just 15 seconds. The device, which builds on the traditional stethoscope invented in 1816, uses artificial intelligence to analyse subtle differences in heartbeat and blood flow that are undetectable to the human ear, while simultaneously taking an ECG.
Details of the breakthrough were presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress in Madrid. A study involving approximately 12,000 patients from 200 GP surgeries in the UK found that those examined with the AI stethoscope were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, three times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, and almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart valve disease compared to patients not using the technology.
The device, manufactured by California-based Eko Health, is about the size of a playing card. It is placed on the patient's chest to record electrical signals and heart sounds, which are sent to secure cloud storage for analysis by AI algorithms. Results are then transmitted to a smartphone, indicating whether the patient should be flagged as at-risk for one of the three conditions.
Dr Patrik Bächtiger of Imperial College London noted that the stethoscope's design had remained unchanged for 200 years until now. He highlighted the device's ability to deliver rapid test results for heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and heart valve disease. The researchers emphasised that the tool should be used for symptomatic patients, not for routine checks in healthy individuals, due to a risk of false positives.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan of the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the research, said earlier diagnosis enables patients to access treatment sooner. Professor Mike Lewis of the National Institute for Health and Care Research called the tool a 'gamechanger' for bringing innovation to GPs and addressing major causes of death.
