Having received U.S. clearance from the FDA last fall, Ultromics, a UK-based health technology firm, has released an AI-driven medical device that can predict coronary heart disease by analyzing ultrasound images.
According to reports, the tool, dubbed ‘EchoGo Pro’, is able to analyze thousands of data points rather than the 5-6 indicators referenced in traditional visual inspection. When trialled in the UK and the US, the technology reportedly achieved a diagnostic performance of over 90% and halved the number of misdiagnoses compared to reports from routine clinical practice.
Currently, misdiagnosis of cardiovascular disease occurs in one in five patients due to the complexity of symptoms, circumstances, and co-morbidities, which makes it extremely challenging for doctors to correctly identify conditions in traditional visual inspection.
According to Ross Upton, Ultromics co-founder and CEO, the tool’s “high level of precision and its speed of use means doctors, regardless of their level of experience or training, can make accurate recommendations to patients to help reduce misdiagnosis,” thus ultimately helping to save lives.
He added that the technology could help to dramatically lower misdiagnosis rates, which would have a considerable effect on hospitals and healthcare providers, saving them money and medical resources.
According to the World Health Organization, heart disease is the number one cause of death globally, with 17 million people dying of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) every year, particularly heart attacks and strokes.
In the UK, currently, EchoGo Pro is able to generate the results immediately following the image analysis, delivering a heart disease prognosis to hospital sites through its secure cloud system, built-in partnership with the UK National Health Service, based on thousands of past clinical exams.
“Leveraging AI technology means we can more accurately predict heart disease and optimize care pathways – to help make valuable cost and time savings for healthcare systems at this time when they are already stretched and in much need of support,” noted Professor Paul Leeson, head of the Oxford cardiovascular clinical research facility and co-founder of Ultromics.
By automating the process and applying its AI analysis to look in greater detail at the scans, EchoGo enables clinicians to interpret echocardiograms efficiently and accurately and assists in their decision-making. The company says EchoGo uses AI to calculate left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), the most frequently used measurement of heart function, left ventricular volumes (LV) and, for the first time for an AI application, automated cardiac strain.