GE HealthCare Adds AI Guidance to Cardiac Ultrasound Assessments with Vscan Air SL

In order to expand access to cardiac assessments via point-of-care ultrasound, GE HealthCare has added Caption AI capability to its Vscan Air SL handheld ultrasound device.

Through Caption AI’s use of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled guidance to assist with ultrasound probe placement and imaging, GE HealthCare said the software can promote greater confidence in the use of Vscan Air SL to perform timely cardiac evaluation, even for those clinicians who lack ultrasound expertise.

In addition to a sector-phased array transducer, the Vscan Air SL also has an AutoEF feature, which provides automated calculation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), according to GE HealthCare.

The company suggested that the expanded capabilities of Vscan Air SL with Caption AI, which will be showcased at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Scientific Session and Expo later this week in Atlanta, could have an impact for earlier detection of heart disease in patients at resource-challenged facilities.

"With the increase of cardiovascular disease and shortage of sonographers around the globe, innovations like the Vscan Air SL with Caption AI are hugely transformative in cardiac care, supporting rapid and confident assessments at the point of care," said cardiologist Jordan B. Strom, M.D., MSc, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of echocardiographic research at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.