Bay Labs and Northwestern Medicine team up for AI-based ultrasound technique

US-based medical technology firm, Bay Labs, and quality healthcare and service provider, Northwestern Medicine, has enrolled their first patient in a collaborative ‘first-of-its-kind’ study, named “SHAPE: Seeing the Heart with AI Powered Echo” to evaluate AI-guided ultrasound acquisition by certified medical assistants (CMAs). This non-randomised study will enrol approximately 1,200 patients at Northwestern Medicine sites, including Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital and Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group primary care clinics.

The study, which aims to assess the use of Bay Labs’ EchoGPS cardiac ultrasound guidance software to enable CMAs as medical professionals with no prior scanning experience to capture high-quality echocardiograms, will also analyse the use of its EchoMD measurement and interpretation software suite to detect certain types of heart disease among patients, who are 65 years and older, undergoing routine physical examinations in primary care settings.

EchoGPS uses AI to aid in the acquisition of echocardiograms by providing non-specialist users real-time guidance to obtain cardiac views.

Charles Cadieu, co-founder and CEO of Bay Labs, said: “The EchoGPS and EchoMD product suite has the potential to transform how cardiovascular care can be delivered in healthcare systems. Incorporating our AI software with deep learning technology into clinical practice could allow non-specialist medical professionals to acquire images to support cardiologist interpretation and clinical decision-making and may lead to improved patient outcomes through earlier detection and monitoring.”

In the UK, the country’s government has also announced the opening of five centres that are aimed to capitalise on AI’s potential benefits in healthcare. The new centres are in Leeds, Glasgow, Oxford, Coventry, and London but will share their expertise with partners across the UK. AI is an important part of the government’s supposed “Industrial Strategy”. The nation will invest £4.7 billion over the period of four years to address the opportunities and challenges of the future.

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