Eko Health today announced that the FDA has cleared its digital stethoscope’s low EF (ejection fraction) detection AI platform.

With the Eko stethoscope, healthcare professionals can now detect Low EF, an indicator of heart failure, in 15 seconds during routine health exams. Low EF AI incorporates rapid and accessible low EF detection into standard stethoscope testing on the medical frontline.

San Francisco-based Eko developed the Low EF AI feature in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. Dr. paul friedmanMayo Clinic’s director of cardiovascular medicine said the new feature could help prevent hospitalizations and adverse events.

“Importantly, because the stethoscope is small and portable, we hope this technology can be used in urban and remote areas and help address care efforts in underserved areas.” said Friedman.

Eko plans to add Low EF AI to its Sensora platform, which uses AI to detect heart disease. The platform already has FDA-cleared algorithms to distinguish between AFib and structural heart murmurs.

“The stethoscope is one of the most recognizable symbols of healthcare, touching an estimated one billion lives around the world each year,” said Connor Landgraf, co-founder and CEO of Eko Health. “With Eko’s Low EF AI, we have turned a medical icon into an AI-powered early heart failure detection tool, saving millions of lives in a fraction of the time and cost of echocardiography. We are honored to collaborate with Mayo Clinic on this groundbreaking initiative. ”