This AI-powered stethoscope can detect heart diseases in 15 seconds
What's the story
A team of doctors has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered stethoscope that can detect three major heart conditions in just 15 seconds. The revolutionary device, created by researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, is capable of diagnosing heart failure, heart valve disease, and abnormal heart rhythms almost instantly. The breakthrough was presented at the European Society of Cardiology's annual congress in Madrid.
Technological innovation
How the device works
The new stethoscope can detect minute variations in heartbeat and blood flow that are usually imperceptible to the human ear. It also takes a rapid ECG simultaneously. The device, about the size of a playing card, is placed on a patient's chest to record an ECG of their heart's electrical signals while its microphone captures the sound of blood flowing through the heart.
Data processing
Information sent to the cloud for analysis
The information collected by the AI stethoscope is sent to a secure online data storage area, or the cloud. Here, it is analyzed by AI algorithms capable of detecting subtle heart problems that a human might miss. The test result, indicating whether the patient should be flagged as at-risk for one of the three conditions or not, is then sent back to a smartphone.
Diagnostic advantage
Trialed on nearly 12,000 patients
The AI stethoscope was trialed on some 12,000 patients with symptoms like breathlessness or fatigue. Those examined with the new tool were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure than similar patients who weren't examined using the technology. They were also three times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart valve disease.