An AI powered stethoscope can be a ‘game changer’ for medical professionals as it can help them in the early detection of heart disorders.
This stethoscope can analyse subtle differences in heartbeats and blood flow that human ears cannot pick up while using the conventional one, which was invented over 200 years ago.
When placed on the chest, this playing card size chest piece records the ECG of the heart’s signals while a microphone captures blood flow sounds.
The data is then sent to the cloud, analysed by AI, and the results are flagged on a smartphone to show heart failure risk. All this gets done in seconds.
Experts suggest this stethoscope can help in early treatment for heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms, also known as atrial fibrillation.
The study, led by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, involved more than 200 GP surgeries in London.
The AI stethoscope was trialled in 96 surgeries involving 12,725 patients, with heart failure symptoms, and compared to patients from 109 GP surgeries where the technology was not used.
The outcome with AI was 2.33 times more successful in the diagnosis of heart failure in the next 12 months.
The new stethoscope was 3.45 times more likely to detect atrial fibrillation and nearly twice as likely to spot heart valve disease as well.
“This is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than 200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century,” commented Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
The ‘Tricorder’ trial findings are being presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid.
Researchers are planning to roll out the AI stethoscopes to GP practices in Wales, south London, and Sussex.
