Artificial Intelligence is steadily transforming healthcare, and one of the oldest tools in a doctor’s kit has just received a major upgrade. Researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust have unveiled an AI-powered stethoscope that can diagnose three major heart conditions — Heart Failure (HF), Atrial Fibrillation (AF), and Valvular Heart Disease (VHD) — in as little as 15 seconds.
Unlike a traditional stethoscope, which relies solely on sound, this next-generation device can detect tiny abnormalities in heartbeat and blood flow that the human ear might miss. It also performs a quick ECG (electrocardiogram) simultaneously, enabling doctors to get a more comprehensive picture of a patient’s heart health.
Roughly the size of a playing card, the AI stethoscope was developed and tested as part of the UK-based TRICORDER study. The device connects via Bluetooth to a dedicated smartphone app, allowing clinicians to visualize the captured data in real-time. Using Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity, the recordings are securely sent to cloud-based AI algorithms, which are regulated by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
“The statistical performance of these three AI algorithms has been shown to be high and consistent against international external validation studies,” researchers noted in their paper published in BMJ Open.
Here’s how it works: when placed on a patient’s chest, the stethoscope records both heart sounds and electrical signals from the heart. The data is then uploaded to the cloud, where AI models trained on tens of thousands of patient records analyze it to detect potential heart problems. Within seconds, results are sent back to the smartphone, indicating whether the patient is at risk and may need further medical attention.
The impact of this innovation is significant. According to the British Heart Foundation, patients examined using the AI stethoscope were “2.33 times more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, 3.45 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, and 1.92 times more likely to be diagnosed with heart valve disease in the next 12 months.”
This breakthrough could revolutionize early detection of cardiovascular disease, offering faster, more accurate, and accessible diagnostics at the point of care.
