Meet The AI Stethoscope That Spots Heart Conditions In Seconds

The stethoscope has been a symbol of medicine for over 200 years, but its design has hardly changed. Today, engineers and doctors are adding AI to the tool in ways that could change how heart disease is picked up…

On Tomorrow’s Cure, cardiologist Dr Demilade Adedinsewo and Eko Health co-founder Jason Bellet discussed a digital stethoscope that does more than listen. The device records electrocardiogram data alongside heart sounds, giving doctors two data streams in one exam. This means a routine chest check can carry as much information as tests that usually need more equipment.

Traditional stethoscopes typically depend on a doctor’s ear, whereas this device uses sensors to capture sound waves and electrical activity. Those readings are then analysed through algorithms trained on thousands of patient cases. The system looks for patterns linked to disease and flags them to the clinician.

 

How Does The Technology Work?

 

Bellet explained that the stethoscope looks familiar but has a digital core. Microphones and electrodes built into the chest piece record data that is sent to connected software. Machine learning models then compare what has been captured to large datasets of confirmed conditions.

The system is designed to catch small irregularities in rhythm or flow that are easy to miss in noisy clinic settings. For example, murmurs and atrial fibrillation can be picked up with more certainty than through listening alone. Once flagged, the results guide doctors to order more detailed tests or make earlier referrals to specialists.

Because the device is portable and battery powered, it fits into existing routines without adding extra machines to the room. Doctors can still use it in the same way they always have, but the software runs in the background and processes data in seconds.

 

 

What Could It Mean For Check-Ups?

 

Eko Health sees the tool as a way to turn a short chest exam into a full on screening. Bellet described a vision where 15 to 30 seconds of heart or lung sounds could be enough to screen for a range of illnesses during an annual visit.

This could make a regular appointment more powerful without extending its length. Instead of relying only on human judgment, clinicians would have digital feedback on whether something unusual was detected. That information could be stored in patient records and compared across visits to track changes over time.

It also means that care is not limited to large hospitals with full diagnostic labs. Local clinics or general practices could use the device and pass on data when a referral is needed.

 

How Is AI Being Used In Heart Diagnosis More Widely?

 

The Mayo Clinic has also been pushing AI into cardiology outside of stethoscope technology. Its Department of Cardiovascular Medicine has developed algorithms that screen for left ventricular dysfunction, a condition with no obvious symptoms. In trials, the AI tool spotted people at risk 93% of the time. To put this into perspective, mammograms are accurate about 85% of the time.

Another use is in detecting atrial fibrillation before patients feel any symptoms. Mayo’s research has shown that AI-guided ECGs can find faulty heart rhythms at an early stage, giving doctors more time to manage risks. AI has also been used in Apple Watch features that pick up weak heart pumps, giving people at home a way to monitor heart strength.

Mayo’s work also extends to emergency care, where in stroke cases caused by brain bleeding, CT scans are processed by AI systems trained to read images quickly. This speeds up diagnosis, giving doctors more time to limit brain damage.

The reason Mayo has been able to push forward is the size of its database. With more than 7 million ECGs and a long record of diagnostic imaging, its scientists can train AI systems on massive sets of anonymised patient data. That depth of material, paired with close work between doctors and engineers, has created practical tools now being used in clinics.

The classic stethoscope was once a breakthrough because it gave doctors a way to hear what was happening inside the body. AI stethoscopes build on that idea but extend human hearing with computation.

Dr Adedinsewo brought up how pregnancy-related heart problems are often missed until they become severe. A safer, faster way to screen could change outcomes for mothers who would otherwise be overlooked.

Mayo’s AI work at large shows how similar thinking can be scaled to other conditions. From ECGs to CT scans, AI is certainly changing the game with healthcare technology.