AI automates cardiac analysis for earlier detection of cardiovascular disease

UK-based health technology company Ultromics has received 510(K) clearance from the USA FDA for its image analysis system EchoGo Core.

EchoGo applies AI to automate the analysis and quantification of ultrasound-based heart scans. It has been years in development, from the first trial being set up in 2011 to Ultromics spinning out of the University of Oxford in 2017. The next stage of growth is commercialising the product and making it available to clinicians. EchoGo uses AI to calculate left ventricular ejection fraction, the most frequently used  measurement of heart function, left ventricular volumes and, said to be the first time for an AI application, automated cardiac strain.

Founder and ceo Ross Upton said: “Strain has been shown to be very valuable in  cardiovascular diagnostics and has been demonstrated in published studies to be linked with earlier detection of disease and improved patient outcomes. Ultromics will be the first to use AI for automated strain analysis which is applicable to 60 million scans per year. We have more developments planned in 2020, including EchoGo Pro. It will be the first AI system able to predict cardiac disease from echocardiography. We are also planning to expand into other geographic regions including Europe and Asia.”

Picture: Auto contouring generated by EchoGo, calculating key cardiac parameters.

Published on page 22 of the January 2020 issue of RAD Magazine.