‘Game-changing’ AI stethoscopes could detect heart conditions in seconds

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.

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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.”