Investment of $55M enables Ultromics to boost early detection of heart failure
In a groundbreaking development for the field of cardiology, Ultromics, a UK-based company specializing in AI-driven diagnostics, has raised $55 million through its Series C funding round. This investment will enable Ultromics to expand its AI-enhanced diagnostic capabilities across the US and other key markets, potentially saving lives.
The funding round was co-led by L&G, Allegis Capital, and Lightrock, with participation from major US health systems such as University of Chicago Medicine and UPMC Enterprises. This support underscores the significance of Ultromics' work in revolutionizing the early detection and accurate diagnosis of complex heart conditions.
One such condition is Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF), a type of heart failure that is often underrecognized and difficult to diagnose. According to recent studies, up to 64% of HFpEF cases go undiagnosed, with cardiac amyloidosis being frequently mistaken for more common forms of heart disease.
Ultromics' AI platform, now FDA-cleared and Medicare-reimbursed, is making a significant impact in this area. Its flagship product, EchoGo, has shown remarkable results in improving the detection of HFpEF by 73.6% when compared with standard clinical risk scores.
EchoGo is a fully reimbursed diagnostic tool under the USA's Medicare program, making it scalable across hospitals, clinics, and health systems. Its use is not limited to inpatient settings, as outpatient use is also now Medicare-reimbursed.
The AI-driven platform extracts hidden disease signals from standard echocardiograms, enabling earlier, more accurate detection of complex heart conditions. Victor Westerlind, Managing Director at Allegis Capital, stated that Ultromics' platform closes a long-standing blind spot in cardiology.
Ultromics' latest diagnostic model for cardiac amyloidosis outperformed current clinical risk scores while distinguishing disease from similar conditions. This model, along with the AI-enhanced echocardiography and multimodal AI models developed by Ultromics, has significantly improved the early detection and accurate diagnosis of HFpEF and cardiac amyloidosis.
Natural language processing (NLP) applied to electronic health records (EHRs) by Ultromics can identify a large number of previously undiagnosed HFpEF patients, revealing a high prevalence of missed diagnoses with serious implications such as increased hospitalizations and mortality.
When paired with the latest treatment advances, Ultromics' diagnostic capabilities have the potential to save lives. For example, deep learning models analyzing ECGs have shown robust sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy (>85%) in predicting early signs of cardiac contractile dysfunction and HFpEF, enabling earlier interventions.
In late 2024, Ultromics received FDA Breakthrough Device clearance for EchoGo Amyloidosis, further cementing its position as a leader in AI-driven cardiology diagnostics. The company plans to use the proceeds of the funding round to continue its mission of bringing its life-saving technology to hospitals and echo labs across the globe.
In conclusion, AI-driven cardiology diagnostics, led by Ultromics' EchoGo platform, are reducing missed or delayed diagnoses by providing automated, precise, and scalable tools that detect HFpEF and cardiac amyloidosis earlier than traditional methods, enabling timely treatment and potentially improved outcomes.
- The funding secured by Ultromics will be used to expand the application of their AI-enhanced diagnostic capabilities in digital health, particularly in the early detection and accurate diagnosis of heart conditions like Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) and cardiac amyloidosis.
- The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cardiovascular health, such as the EchoGo platform developed by Ultromics, shows great promise in improving health-and-wellness outcomes by identifying previously undiagnosed cases of HFpEF and cardiac amyloidosis, and by extracting hidden disease signals from standard echocardiograms.
- Enhancements in technology and advancements in science have led to innovative solutions in medical-conditions management, with Ultromics' AI-driven diagnostics and natural language processing (NLP) techniques serving as prime examples in the field of cardiology, revolutionizing early detection and accurate diagnosis of complex heart conditions.
