What You Should Know
- Boehringer Ingelheim and Eko Health have introduced Eko Vet+™ | CANINEBEAT® AI, a digital auscultation solution designed to detect, visualize, and grade heart murmurs in dogs.
- The system utilizes the Eko CORE™ Digital Attachment, which amplifies heart sounds by 40 times and offers advanced noise cancellation.
- The CANINEBEAT® AI algorithm boasts over 95% sensitivity and specificity in detecting murmurs associated with structural heart disease.
- The solution targets myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD), the most common canine heart disease, which affects approximately 10% of all dogs.
- Rollout has begun in the U.S. and U.K., with a launch in Germany scheduled for next month followed by a phased global expansion.
Heart disease is a silent threat in the veterinary world, affecting one in ten dogs and often remaining asymptomatic until the later stages. Identifying these conditions during routine checkups is notoriously difficult in busy clinical environments. To address this diagnostic gap, Boehringer Ingelheim, a leader in animal health, has partnered with Eko Health to launch Eko Vet+™ with CANINEBEAT® AI. This collaborative effort brings the same high-fidelity AI detection used in human cardiology to the veterinary exam room, enabling practitioners to identify subtle heart murmurs that might otherwise go unnoticed.
The platform is designed to act as a digital “second opinion” for general practitioners. By combining advanced amplification hardware with an algorithm validated on over 4,000 annotated canine heart recordings, the system provides a consistent and objective way to grade murmurs. This is particularly critical for MMVD, a chronic condition that is a primary cause of morbidity in dogs but is often detectable only through precise auscultation in its early, treatable stages.
Advanced Hardware and Data-Driven Intelligence
The Eko Vet+™ solution is built on a three-part ecosystem designed for seamless clinical integration. The hardware component, the Eko CORE™ Digital Attachment, connects to standard stethoscopes to digitize heart sounds while providing 40x amplification and cardiac sound filtering. This allows veterinarians to hear low-grade murmurs that are frequently masked by ambient clinic noise or a dog’s movement.
The digitized audio is then processed by the CANINEBEAT® AI algorithm, which was developed with input from 50 global veterinary cardiology experts. The algorithm’s 95% sensitivity ensures that clinicians can confidently distinguish between normal heart rhythms and those indicating structural disease. Crucially, the system is intended to support, rather than replace, professional veterinary judgment, serving as a powerful screening tool that triggers further comprehensive cardiac evaluations when necessary.
Bridging the Communication Gap with Pet Owners
Beyond detection, the solution serves as a vital communication tool between veterinarians and pet owners. The Eko Vet+™ app incorporates murmur images and sound files that can be shared in real-time, helping pet owners visualize a condition that has no outward symptoms. By providing shareable reports and clear clinical insights, the app makes it easier for veterinarians to explain the seriousness of a diagnosis and the necessity of early intervention.
As Connor Landgraf, CEO of Eko Health, noted, earlier detection has already changed the trajectory of care in human medicine. By equipping veterinarians with these AI-powered tools, the partnership aims to replicate those outcomes in canine patients. The phased global rollout ensures that this technology will soon be a standard utility in clinics worldwide, shifting canine cardiology from reactive treatment to proactive, data-driven management.
