What You Should Know:
– Eko today announced a global collaboration with AstraZeneca to accelerate the development of digital health tools for the earlier screening of cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure.
– Through the collaboration, AstraZeneca and Eko will explore accelerating the development of Eko algorithms, enhancing clinical trials with Eko technology, and potentially building new heart failure detection solutions.
Eko, a digital health company building AI-powered screening and telehealth solutions to fight cardiovascular disease, today announced with AstraZeneca to accelerate the development of digital health tools for the earlier screening of cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure. Through the collaboration, AstraZeneca and Eko will explore accelerating the development of Eko algorithms, enhancing clinical trials with Eko technology, and potentially building new heart failure detection solutions.
Why It Matters
Heart failure is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, affecting approximately 64 million people worldwide. Heart failure happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood into the body and is most commonly detected by echocardiogram imaging tests that are not normally conducted during a physical exam. Because of the limited access to echocardiography or other diagnostic tests, heart failure is frequently diagnosed late, making life-prolonging treatment more challenging. Heart failure remains as fatal as some of the most common cancers and is the leading cause of hospitalization for those over the age of 65, representing a significant clinical and economic burden.
Eko’s AI-Powered telehealth platform for virtual pulmonary and cardiac exams, providing clinicians within-person level exam capabilities during video visits. The platform is already deployed by more than 200 health systems for telehealth, the platform goes beyond standard video conferencing to facilitate stethoscope audio, ECG live-streaming, and FDA-cleared identification of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and heart murmurs.
“Eko was founded to provide a better way to understand our heart and lung health and to improve cardiopulmonary care for patients through digital technology and novel algorithms,” said Connor Landgraf, CEO and co-founder of Eko. “Eko’s collaboration with AstraZeneca will allow us to expand the capability of our technology, generate real-world data, and explore disease management solutions while leveraging AstraZeneca’s global expertise and existing relationships across the treatment continuum for heart failure.”
