Eko ’s New Algorithm Helps Digital Stethoscope Give Insight on Heart Conditions

Eko has won FDA clearance for a suite of algorithms that will allow its digital stethoscope to more accurately screen for heart conditions that include heart murmurs and atrial fibrillation (AFib) during routine physical exams. The San Francisco, CA-based company Eko’s AI identifies heart murmurs with 87% sensitivity and 87% specificity. The company said in comparison, a recent study revealed that using traditional stethoscopes, primary care physicians had a sensitivity of 43% and a specificity of 69% for detecting significant valvular heart disease, which affects more than five million Americans. The AI has the ability to detect AFib with 99% sensitivity and 97% specificity when analyzing the 1-lead ECG tracing from the Eko DUO stethoscope. The integration of ECG into the stethoscope enables providers to quickly screen patients for serious arrhythmia during a standard physical exam. The algorithm also reports heart rate and QRS duration and identifies tachycardia and bradycardia, abnormally fast and slow heart rates, which can be indicative of heart disease or other health conditions such as thyroid disease. “Our vision since day one has been to build seamless technology that helps providers more accurately detect heart disease, the leading killer in the world, by putting the ears of a cardiologist in any clinician’s stethoscope,” Connor Landgraf, Eko’s Co-Founder and CEO said in a rele...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Cardiovascular Digital Health Source Type: news