Stethoscope with AI identifies heart issues in seconds
Imperial College London researchers say AI-enabled stethoscopes could transform GP care, allowing heart conditions to be spotted sooner instead of waiting for emergency diagnoses.
A new stethoscope powered by AI could enable doctors to identify three serious heart conditions in just seconds, according to UK researchers.
The device replaces the traditional chest piece with a small sensor that records both electrical signals from the heart and the sound of blood flow, which are then analysed in the cloud by AI trained on large datasets.
The AI tool has shown strong results in trials across more than 200 GP practices, with patients tested using the stethoscope being more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure within 12 months compared with those assessed through usual care.
It was also 3.45 times more likely to detect atrial fibrillation and almost twice as likely to identify heart valve disease.
Researchers from Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said the technology could help doctors provide treatment at an earlier stage instead of waiting until patients present in hospital with advanced symptoms.
The findings, known as Tricorder, will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid.
The project, supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is now preparing for further rollouts in Wales, south London and Sussex. Experts described the innovation as a significant step in updating a medical tool that has remained largely unchanged for over 200 years.
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