An artificial intelligence-augmented stethoscope more than doubled a physician’s ability to detect heart murmurs, a recent study found.
The study, published Feb. 5 in European Heart Journal-Digital Health, had 357 patients older than 50 who were at risk of heart disease undergo both analogue cardiac auscultation by their provider and a digital auscultation by study coordinators using an AI-augmented stethoscope. Echocardiography and audible murmur annotations were used as the reference standard.
The study was led by researchers from Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham and the Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation in New York City. Here is what they found:
1. The AI-augmented stethoscope accurately identified health valve disease 92% of the time, compared to 46% when using a traditional stethoscope.
2. The AI stethoscope had lower specificity compared to traditional devices, at 86.9% compared to 95.6%.
“Artificial intelligence-enabled digital stethoscopes significantly improve point-of-care VHD detection, offering a promising tool for earlier diagnosis and intervention in primary care settings,” study authors wrote.
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