Voice-detected heart failure, smartphone stethoscopes, early detection of cardiovascular disease using blood spots, and training tools using 3D-printed and virtual hearts are among the innovations being presented at the ESC Digital & AI Summit, taking place in Berlin, Germany. Business leaders, tech experts, and healthcare professionals will gather at this event to discuss the latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) in cardiovascular care.
One of the new developments — presented by Theodor Health — turns smartphones into digital stethoscopes and uses AI to detect heart conditions such as heart valve disease and arrhythmias in just a few seconds.
The app is being developed as a medical device. Once ready, it will allow users to record heart sounds for 15 seconds on any iOS/Android smartphone, tap ‘Analyse’, and receive an assessment regarding their heart and respiratory rates. The sensitivity and specificity for heart murmurs is over 90% for heart murmurs, which is higher than traditional stethoscopes.
“Using only a smartphone, doctors and patients can access our website or app worldwide to detect signs of heart disease in 15 seconds and initiate further diagnostics right away,” said Dr Maximillian Priebe, founder and chief executive officer of Theodor Health.
Another development involves real-time 3D simulation to determine the best placement of pacemaker leads along the heart’s natural electrical pathways to stimulate the heart in a more physiological and synchronised way. London-based Epicardio has adapted this device with a view to minimising training on patients. Trainees can interact with a virtual heart, inserting leads into it, while accurate ECG/CSP signals are generated in real time.
“Using this virtual heart training enables hands-on learning of the mechanisms of CSP, conduction abnormalities, and their relationship to cardiac anatomy and electrophysiology, in a safe simulated environment away from the patient,” said Epicardio co-founder Dr Vassilios Hurmusiadis.
A third example is the PocDoc Healthy Heart Check. This is already certified and approved for use in the UK, rolled out across health centres and pharmacies nationwide, and available for professional and at-home use. Patients take a small blood sample, drop it onto the PocDoc test, and, after seven minutes, take a photo of the reading with their smartphone or tablet. It provides users with a complete cholesterol profile, body mass index, heart age, and a 10-year risk assessment for heart attacks and strokes. Results can be shared directly with their GP.
“The PocDoc Healthy Heart Check makes preventative care for CVD more accessible than ever before. It also enables individuals to take control of their health and eases the strain on the healthcare system. Research by the UK’s NHS indicates that each digital health check could save a GP 20 minutes of time. Further research has also shown 80% of CVD cases can be prevented through early detection. For patients, the PocDoc test significantly reduces the time it takes to arrange, undertake, and receive outcomes results,” said Dr Kiran Roest, Founder of PocDoc, located in Cambridge, UK.
PocDoc’s Healthy Heart Check is available in UK pharmacies for around £20, and is undergoing regulatory review for Europe and has entered discussions with the US FDA for US regulatory approval.
All featured innovations will be presented live at the Digital & AI Summit 2025 in Berlin. Explore the complete lineup of sessions in our scientific programme.