What You Should Know:
– Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in animal health, and Eko Health, a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence (AI) for early disease detection, have announced a strategic collaboration. The partnership aims to enhance the early detection and diagnosis of heart disease in dogs by combining Boehringer’s expertise in canine cardiology with Eko Health’s powerful AI algorithms and digital stethoscopes.
– The collaboration will leverage Eko Health’s technology, already trusted by healthcare professionals with over 650,000 devices sold for use in human medicine, and combine it with Boehringer’s proprietary algorithm. The result will be a canine-specific detection algorithm made available to veterinarians through a purpose-built Eko mobile app, set to launch in 2026.
Addressing a Common Canine Health Crisis
Heart murmurs in dogs are a common finding in myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD), a chronic heart condition that is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in dogs. MMVD affects approximately 10 to 15% of dogs in their lifetime, making early and accurate detection critical.
In a typical clinic visit, veterinarians rely on analog stethoscopes to detect murmurs, often in noisy environments and during time-constrained exams. This traditional method can miss subtle or early-stage murmurs, especially those that fall outside the range of human hearing.
This partnership aims to equip veterinarians with a simple, powerful tool to detect heart murmurs earlier and with greater confidence. The new tool will give veterinarians the ability to not only hear but also see and document the sounds of heart murmurs, which can then be shared with dog owners.
“As a longtime leader in canine cardiology, we know that early diagnosis of MMVD and consideration of early appropriate treatment are key to helping affected dogs live better and longer lives,” explained Dr. Erich Schött, Head of Pet Therapeutics and Pet Vaccines at Boehringer Ingelheim. “By collaborating with Eko Health, we look forward to simplifying and improving canine heart murmur detection so that more dogs and pet owners can have additional years of life to love.”
