In a first-of-its-kind study, artificial intelligence is opening new possibilities for heart medicine: both in terms of providing better images of the heart and in interpreting those images to catch heart disease earlier.

The study, announced by San Francisco-based Bay Labs and Chicago-area Northwestern Medicine, has just enrolled its first patient and will ultimately involve approximately 1,200 patients. The study has two primary objectives. The first is to determine whether Certified Medical Assistants can use Bay Labs’ EchoGPS cardiac ultrasound guidance software to capture diagnostic-quality echocardiograms. The second is to determine whether those images can be reviewed by cardiologists with EchoMD measurement and interpretation software, enabling greater detection of cardiac disease in patients 65 and older. EchoGPS is designed to provide non-specialist users with real-time guidance in capturing cardiac views, while EchoMD offers an automated review of captured images.

The software may allow patients to receive better screening in primary care settings than is currently available in standard physical exams that include electrocardiograms.

“The ability to simplify acquisition will be a tremendous advance to bring echocardiograms to the point-of-care in primary care offices," said Patrick M. McCarthy, M.D., chief of cardiac surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. McCarthy serves as principal investigator on the project.

According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, causing more than 600,000 deaths annually. While a tool such as echocardiography may lead to earlier detection, it is performed by certified experts with years of specialized training and is not typically available in primary care settings.

The study, called “Seeing the Heart with AI-Powered Echo” (SHAPE), fits into a larger Northwestern initiative that focuses on harnessing the power of AI to advance the study and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The initiative is funded, in part, by a $25 million gift from the Bluhm Family Charitable Foundation, formed by Neil G. Bluhm, a prominent Chicago philanthropist and real estate developer.