Inside STAT: An AI startup tries to take better pictures of the heart

AN ULTRASOUND TAKEN BY STAT'S MATTHEW HERPER. (COURTESY BAY LABS)

As in many areas of medicine nowadays, artificial intelligence is making its way into ultrasound imaging, including of the heart. Taking pictures of the heart can be notoriously difficult — because of the chest wall and because some shots must be made while the heart is in motion. But AI developed by San Francisco-based Caption Health could ensure that a picture is not taken until the ultrasound has the right shot. Using the technology, STAT’s Matthew Herper — who was invited to try his hand at the device — was able to work a sonogram “in a matter of minutes,” he writes. If the AI holds up, it could allow more health professionals to take heart sonograms of more patients. Read more here.