Doctors have successfully developed an artificial intelligence-led stethoscope that can detect three heart conditions in 15 seconds.

Invented in 1816, the traditional stethoscope – used to listen to sounds within the body – has been a vital part of every medic’s toolkit for more than two centuries.

Now a team have designed a hi-tech upgrade with AI capabilities that can diagnose heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms almost instantly.

The new stethoscope developed by researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College healthcare NHS trust can analyse tiny differences in heartbeat and blood flow undetectable to the human ear, and take a rapid ECG at the same time.

Details of the breakthrough, which could boost early diagnosis of the three conditions, were presented to thousands of doctors at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress in Madrid, the world’s largest heart conference.

Early diagnosis is vital for heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms, enabling those who need lifesaving medicines to be spotted sooner, before they become dangerously unwell.

A study trialling the AI stethoscope, involving about 12,000 patients from 200 GP surgeries in the UK, looked at those with symptoms such as breathlessness or fatigue.

Those examined using the new tool were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, compared with similar patients who were not examined using the technology.

Patients were three times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation – an abnormal heart rhythm that can increase the risk of having a stroke. They were almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart valve disease, which is where one or more heart valves do not work properly.

The AI-led stethoscope analyses differences in heartbeat and blood flow undetectable to the human ear, and takes an ECG recording. Photograph: Eko Health

Dr Patrik Bächtiger, of Imperial College London’s National Heart and Lung Institute and Imperial College healthcare NHS trust, said: “The design of the stethoscope has been unchanged for 200 years – until now.

“So it is incredible that a smart stethoscope can be used for a 15-second examination, and then AI can quickly deliver a test result indicating whether someone has heart failure, atrial fibrillation or heart valve disease.”

The device, manufactured by California company Eko Health, is about the size of a playing card. It is placed on a patient’s chest to take an ECG recording of the electrical signals from their heart, while its microphone records the sound of blood flowing through the heart.

This information is sent to the cloud – a secure online data storage area – to be analysed by AI algorithms that can detect subtle heart problems a human would miss.

The test result, indicating whether the patient should be flagged as at-risk for one of the three conditions or not, is sent back to a smartphone.

The breakthrough does carry an element of risk, with a higher chance of people wrongly being told they may have one of the conditions when they do not. The researchers stressed the AI stethoscope should be used for patients with symptoms of suspected heart problems, and not for routine checks in healthy people.

But it could also save lives and money by diagnosing people much earlier.

Dr Mihir Kelshiker, also at Imperial College, said: “Most people with heart failure are only diagnosed when they arrive in A&E seriously ill.

“This trial shows that AI-enabled stethoscopes could change that – giving GPs a quick, simple tool to spot problems earlier, so patients can get the right treatment sooner.”

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, the clinical director of the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the research alongside the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), said: “Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer.”

Prof Mike Lewis, the NIHR scientific director for innovation, said: “This tool could be a real gamechanger for patients, bringing innovation directly into the hands of GPs. The AI stethoscope gives local clinicians the ability to spot problems earlier, diagnose patients in the community, and address some of the big killers in society.”