Combined with its app, Eko’s smart stethoscope can be used to detect heart disease.
Eko – maker of smart stethoscopes paired with software –announced on tuesday Launched its newly designed cardiovascular disease screening app. The Oakland, California-based company is focused on improving detection of heart and lung diseases.
its smart stethoscope Analysis of heart sounds in combination with Eko App’s automatic disease detection software FDA Approved artificial intelligence algorithms.The redesigned app includes a range of new features for analyzing heart sounds and rhythm for potential problems, including automatic detection of heart murmurs; atrial fibrillation detection (available when used with the Eko DUO ECG); bradycardia, a A slower-than-normal heart rate; and tachycardia, a heart rate in excess of 100 beats per minute.
Eco’s Technology is built for frontline healthcare workers such as primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses. According to the company, it’s designed to be used to detect heart problems during routine annual physicals, long before patients reach a cardiologist or enter the emergency room.
However, the time constraints of primary care physicians do not bode well for early detection of heart problems.
“Today’s clinicians are overburdened with high patient and administrative workloads, which often limit the time they have to assess a patient’s heart health during periods of physical contact,” said Conor LandgrafEko’s CEO and co-founder, in an email provided by a representative.
But primary care physicians equipped with Eko’s smart stethoscope and app can more easily detect potential heart problems.
When a problem is detected using the Eko app, Landgraf said, that could lead primary care providers to appropriately refer the patient to a cardiologist.They can also share Findings, including recordings of heart sounds and visualization of heart rhythm activity, were conducted with a cardiologist prior to a patient’s appointment.
Landgraf said this automatic detection occurs without doctors deviating from their normal routine of listening to a patient’s heart and lungs through a stethoscope. In short, they don’t need to change what they do in practice to potentially detect heart disease.
Given that heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, other health groups are also targeting early detection. Companies are “democratizing” heart care with technology that helps frontline healthcare providers.
CardiologyFor example, provide software that enables any healthcare professional to screen patients for cardiovascular disease. Sonavier Laboratories It also produces artificial intelligence technology, including smart stethoscopes, that doctors, parents and patients can use to detect heart and lung problems.
Eko is proud to have created the first AI-powered stethoscope, a smart stethoscope designed only for use by healthcare providers.
“The greatest potential impact is the opportunity to treat more patients with undiagnosed heart disease earlier in disease progression, when interventions can yield more favorable outcomes,” Landgraf said. “we know In some rural and developing areas, local residents may have limited or no access to specialists such as cardiologists. “
Eko’s technology enables doctors without extensive training in cardiology to detect the heart Murmur and AFib, he said.
“exist The hands and pockets of every front-line clinician (this) should lead to more heart disease being detected earlier and brought to cardiology sooner for more timely treatment and effective management,” Landgraf Say.
Photo: Mitch Tobias, courtesy of Eko Health
