A large NHS study published in The Lancet has found that a new AI-enabled stethoscope designed to detect serious heart conditions spots them faster and more frequently in primary care.
The clinical trial, called TRICORDER, led by researchers at Imperial's National Heart and Lung Institute and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and supported by the Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), examined if the technology could detect heart conditions such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and valve disease.
The TRICORDER trial involved 205 NHS GP practices and more than 1.5 million registered patients in the UK.
Over the year-long study, doctors performed nearly 13,000 AI-assisted heart examinations.
The study found that although the technology worked well, it didn't significantly increase the overall number of heart failure diagnoses.
This was primarily because too many GPs did not use the device consistently in routine clinical practice.
When doctors used the AI stethoscope as intended, the technology detected these cardiovascular conditions faster and more frequently.
This suggests the device performed well, but it will only have a significant impact on patient care when doctors use it frequently and receive the training to do so correctly.
【MORE】