FDA approval was just granted for a new device combining a digital stethoscope and electrocardiogram for home use. This gadget that patients can use at home to automatically alert them and the physicians of aggravated cardiac functions. By developing machine-learning algorithms, in future also a suspected decline in the heart activity is detected.
The handheld device, called the Eko Duo, contains a smartphone app for wireless transmission of heart noise and electrical activity to a specialist as a warning for heart problems.
The stethoscope intensifies heart sounds up to 60 times, contains four digital audio filters and has an enclosed noise reduction. The electrocardiogram (ECG) is to be connected by two electrodes, patients can select between using the 50 Hz or 60 Hz primary filter.
Berkeley’s Eko Duo is a monitoring and warning device for possible heart failure and atrial fibrillation. It detects possible problems, but this doesn’t mean, it could not give a false alarm. According to the company, doctors can use the Eko Duo at the bed or in medical telecommunication consultations with other clinicians.
In developing machine-learning algorithms Eko expects to combine this with Duo to automatically alert care teams and patients of presumed decrease in heart function.
As studies have shown that approximately one quarter of the patients with heart failure are readmitted to hospital within 1 month and half are readmitted within 6 months it’s obvious that cardiac failure cause extremely high costs for the countries.
Cardiologists consider the device as a great way to gather electrocardiographic findings and heart sounds in a user-friendly manner. It may supply cardiologists with data and information from patients concerning the heart sounds that they couldn’t detect by ears in the past.
It is planned to start studies focussed on valvular heart disease, to see if it’s possible to develop an algorithm to reliable recognize of patients with serious valvular disease versus those without. Specialists see a great potential for future development.
