Eko Health
AI-powered digital stethoscopes revolutionizing heart and lung diagnostics.
Headquartered in Emeryville, California, Eko Health serves a global market, with its AI-powered stethoscopes used by over 750,000 clinicians across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Founding Story
Eko Health was founded in 2013 by three UC Berkeley bioengineering students—Connor Landgraf, Jason Bellet, and Tyler Crouch—who recognized the limitations of traditional stethoscopes in detecting heart and lung conditions. Their vision was to integrate digital technology and artificial intelligence into auscultation tools, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and accessibility.
The idea for Eko emerged when Landgraf, during his biomedical engineering studies, observed the challenges clinicians faced with conventional stethoscopes. A conversation with Bellet about creating a "Shazam for heartbeats" sparked the initiative to develop a smart stethoscope that could analyze and interpret heart sounds using AI.
In 2015, Eko received FDA clearance for its first product, CORE—a digital attachment for traditional stethoscopes that connected to a smartphone app. This innovation garnered significant attention, earning a spot on TIME Magazine's Best Inventions list that year.
Eko's collaboration with the Mayo Clinic led to the development of AI algorithms capable of detecting low ejection fraction, a key indicator of heart failure. In 2023, the company launched the CORE 500™, a digital stethoscope integrating high-fidelity audio, a full-color display, and a 3-lead ECG, further solidifying its position in AI-driven cardiac diagnostics.
Eko Health's technology combines advanced digital stethoscopes with FDA-cleared AI algorithms to detect cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions. Devices like the CORE 500™ offer amplified, noise-canceled auscultation, real-time waveform visualization, and integrated ECG readings. The SENSORA™ platform analyzes these inputs to identify abnormalities such as murmurs, atrial fibrillation, and low ejection fraction, aiding clinicians in early and accurate diagnosis.
Impact to Date
Eko Health has transformed cardiac and pulmonary diagnostics, enabling earlier detection and intervention, and improving patient outcomes globally.
Use Case #1:
Enhancing Early Detection of Heart Failure
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology validated Eko’s AI algorithm for detecting reduced ejection fraction—one of the most important and underdiagnosed indicators of heart failure. Traditionally, this condition required specialized imaging equipment like echocardiograms to detect, often delaying diagnosis. Eko’s solution changes that by enabling frontline clinicians to detect low ejection fraction with a simple digital stethoscope exam. Integrated directly into routine check-ups, the AI flags subtle abnormalities in heart sounds and rhythm patterns in real time, alerting providers to refer patients for further evaluation. This innovation dramatically improves early detection, particularly in primary care settings, and is helping shift heart failure diagnosis from late-stage discovery to early intervention—ultimately saving lives and reducing the burden on health systems.
Use Case #2:
Advancing Pulmonary Hypertension Diagnosis
Eko’s AI is not limited to cardiac function—it has also shown promise in detecting pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening but frequently misdiagnosed condition. Using machine learning trained on thousands of real patient recordings, the system can pick up subtle acoustic signals and vibration patterns that indicate increased pulmonary pressure, often years before overt symptoms emerge. In clinical studies and hospital deployments, this early-warning capability has enabled physicians to start treatment earlier, slowing disease progression and improving patient quality of life. By turning heart sound analysis into a more sophisticated diagnostic tool, Eko is giving pulmonologists and cardiologists a new, non-invasive way to screen for complex diseases during standard physical exams—no advanced imaging or lab testing required.
Use Case #3:
Empowering Telehealth and Remote Monitoring
During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, Eko became an essential tool in the expansion of telemedicine. Clinicians could remotely listen to a patient’s heart and lung sounds using Eko’s cloud-connected stethoscope platform—enabling full cardiopulmonary assessments without requiring in-person visits. This was a game-changer for vulnerable patients who couldn’t risk exposure, and it laid the groundwork for broader adoption of remote diagnostics in chronic disease management. Today, healthcare providers in rural clinics, mobile health units, and large health systems use Eko’s technology to monitor patients with heart disease, COPD, and asthma, delivering real-time data to physicians and specialists for review. The result is faster treatment decisions, better continuity of care, and improved access for populations that historically lacked regular contact with specialists.
Use Case #4:
Revolutionizing Medical Education
Eko’s stethoscopes have also transformed how medical students and trainees learn the art of auscultation. Traditional stethoscopes offer no visual feedback, leaving learners to guess whether what they’re hearing is correct. With Eko, students see real-time visualizations of heart sounds, murmurs, and rhythm irregularities—paired with AI-generated labels that confirm what’s being heard. Educators can project these readings for group analysis, annotate recordings, and build libraries of teaching cases. This interactive learning experience accelerates skill acquisition, boosts diagnostic confidence, and ensures a deeper understanding of cardiopulmonary physiology. By equipping the next generation of doctors with cutting-edge tools, Eko is helping to raise the standard of care from the classroom to the clinic.
.webp)
