AI-powered stethoscope detects heart disease in just 15 seconds
A new “intelligent” stethoscope propelled by artificial intelligence can detect tiny differences in heart rate and blood flow which are undetectable for the human ear.
Family doctors of 96 GP surgeries tested the digital stethoscope of the EKO duo, which listens to the heart and records an electrocardiogram (ECG) using an algorithm formed on a huge heart record database to give a rapid diagnosis.
• Quick and inexpensive heart failure treatment “could change its life of 1 m”
Heart failure affects more than a million people in the United Kingdom. In more than 70% of cases, it is only diagnosed after a serious incident as a heart attack or a stroke, despite symptoms or previous contact with a GP.
The improved kit, however, can diagnose heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms in just 15 seconds.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan
NHS Royal Brompton Hospital
Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, Consultant Consultant and Clinical Director of the British Heart Foundation, who financed research, said: “This is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be improved for the 21st century. The treatment they need to help them live well longer. »»
How does new technology work
Imperial College London
The trial, from the Imperial College of London, included more than 1.5 million patients who had symptoms such as shortness of breath or fatigue to 205 gps surgeries. At 96 of these surgeries, some 12,725 patients were tested with the improved kit, and patients with remaining practices were analyzed with a traditional stethoscope. If patients were at a high risk of heart failure, they confirmed their diagnosis with a blood test for a hormone called BNP and a heart scan.
• The ten ways that cardiologists avoid heart disease
Patients tested with the new stethoscope were 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, which is an abnormal heart rate which can increase the risk of having a stroke and was almost twice as likely to receive a diagnosis of heart disease.
Dr. Patrik Bächtiger, of the National Heart and Lung Institute and Imperial College Healthcare of the Imperial College, said: “The design of the stethoscope has been unchanged for more than 200 years until now, it is therefore incredible that an intelligent stethoscope can be a person suffering from heart failure, a 15 -second exam, and an ESA.
