December 10, 2018 – Medical artificial intelligence (AI) company Bay Labs announced a collaboration with Edwards Lifesciences focused on improving the detection of heart disease. The partnership involves multiple initiatives, including the development of new AI-powered algorithms in Bay Labs’ EchoMD measurement and interpretation software suite, the integration of EchoMD algorithms into Edwards Lifesciences’ CardioCare quality care navigation platform, and support for ongoing clinical studies at leading institutions.
Multiple EchoMD algorithms have been integrated into the CardioCare platform for investigational use to retrospectively analyze echocardiograms. The companies believe that incorporating these and future algorithms into clinical practice could help drive quality improvement and potentially increase accurate heart disease detection.
The CardioCare program combines clinical consulting expertise with a cloud-based platform to facilitate the identification, referral and care pathway management of patients with structural heart disease. CardioCare can help hospitals improve quality by reducing variability in echocardiography and ensure effective communication between care settings to ensure patients access to care. The EchoMD software suite assists cardiologists in automated review of images captured during echocardiograms.
Bay Labs received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its first release of EchoMD in June 2018, which included AutoEF. AutoEF automates the calculation of left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), the single most widely used measurement of cardiac function. AutoEF relies on an Image Quality Score algorithm that quantifies the image quality of echo clips and enables display of the quality level alongside relevant images.
Edwards said the value of Bay Labs’ technology is in helping patients suffering from severe aortic stenosis, who frequently do not receive a proper diagnosis for a variety of reasons. According to a 2014 publication from the American Heart Association, aortic valve stenosis is one of the most common valvular diseases and is the third most common cardiovascular disease in developed countries. Earlier detection of heart disease, using tools like echocardiography, may lead to more appropriate treatment for these patients.
For more information: www.baylabs.io, www.edwards.com