PROVIDENCE – Pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that can have debilitating and fatal consequences. But the “gold standard” of early detection is expensive and invasive, often resulting in a delay of more than two years in diagnosis and worse outcomes.
To make early detection more accessible, Lifespan Corp. and California-based digital health company Eko have teamed up to develop a low-cost diagnostic tool, receiving a $2.7 million Small Business Innovation Research grant.
Doctors currently use ultrasound and catheterization techniques to detect a potentially deadly disease that affects up to 1 percent of the world’s population, according to the American Journal of Physiology.
Using Eko’s DUO ECG+ digital stethoscope technology, the health organization is looking to develop an algorithm to detect pulmonary hypertension and its severity. Smart stethoscope technology can already detect certain heart conditions, including heart murmurs and atrial fibrillation, within seconds, Eko said.
Now, researchers are testing the technology “compared to the current gold standard.” Gaurav Choudhary is Principal Investigator, Professor and Director of Cardiovascular Research at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine and the Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute.
“This machine learning algorithm has the potential to be a low-cost, easy-to-implement, and sustainable medical technology that helps healthcare professionals identify more patients with pulmonary hypertension,” said Chowdhury.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a staff writer for PBN.you can contact her Voghel@PBN.com.
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