New AI tool aims to help vets’ cardiology diagnostics

Boehringer Ingelheim has launched what it calls an innovative solution to “detect, visualise and grade” heart murmurs in dogs.

Eko Vet+ Caninebeat AI has been deigned to improve health outcomes for dogs with heart disease by enabling veterinarians to identify heart murmurs that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Erich Schött, head of the pet business at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: “Heart murmur detection in dogs can be quite difficult, especially in busy clinics. Because pet owners don’t see clinical signs in the early stage of heart disease, it’s a challenge for veterinarians to explain that the dog suffers from a serious disease.

“With this unique AI solution, we can help detect murmurs earlier in the disease process, so dogs may receive appropriate diagnosis and treatment sooner.”

Components

The solution includes the following components:

• The Eko Core Digital Attachment connects to most single-tube stethoscopes and digitises heart sounds that can then be analysed by AI-based algorithms. It also helps vets hear more subtle murmurs by amplifying heart sounds by 40 times and offers advanced noise cancellation and cardiac sound filtering. Other Eko devices also are compatible with the veterinary digital solution.
• The Caninebeat AI algorithm, trained and validated on more than 4,000 annotated canine heart sound recordings, detects heart murmurs associated with structural heart disease in dogs with more than 95% sensitivity and specificity. The algorithm is intended to support veterinary clinical assessment and does not replace comprehensive cardiac evaluation or professional veterinary judgement.
• The EkoVet+ app incorporates insights from the Caninebeat AI algorithm, including murmur images, sound files and shareable reports. The app provides clinical support and helps veterinarians discuss the potential findings and any diagnostics and treatment needs with pet owners.

Dr Schött added: “Our proprietary Caninebeat AI algorithm integrated into the Eko Vet+TM app will powerfully support veterinarians’ early detection of heart murmurs in dogs and pet owner conversations.”