Article | Jan 4, 2024

The CUMIN study, published in European Heart Journal Digital Health, showcases the technical feasibility of AI-POCUS with an EchoNous Kosmos in the hands of novice nurses and opens new possibilities for redefining how we approach cardiac care, particularly in regions with limited resources. The fusion of AI, POCUS and nursing expertise holds the promise of transforming patient outcomes and optimizing healthcare delivery.

Key Findings

  • In this prospective feasibility pilot in Tunisia, 7 novice nurses with 1 day of training performed home-based AI-POCUS using the EchoNous Kosmos device; 5 of 7 achieved the minimum standard to participate, demonstrating that brief training is sufficient for task-shifting cardiac screening to non-specialists.
  • The AUC for detecting cardiac dysfunction (LVEF below 50% or LAVI above 34 mL/m2) was 0.86 (95% CI 0.77-0.96) with a specificity of 81%, confirming that home-based AI-POCUS by nurses can meaningfully screen for clinically significant abnormalities.
  • Specificity was 89% for reduced LVEF and 85% for elevated LAVI individually, and the AUC of nurse-led AI-POCUS was significantly higher than NT-proBNP at a cut-off of greater than 125 pg/mL (P = 0.04), outperforming a standard blood biomarker used for the same purpose.
  • The study provides the first prospective evidence that novice nurse-led home-based AI echo can detect cardiac dysfunction with diagnostic performance comparable to a clinic visit with a senior physician, directly addressing the access gap in low- and middle-income countries.
  • These results support scaling home-based cardiac monitoring in resource-constrained settings where clinic attendance is a persistent barrier to early heart failure diagnosis.

 

AI Powered Home Based Ultrasound

Tromp, J., Sarra, C., Nidhal, B., Mejdi, B. M., Zouari, F., Hummel, Y., Mzoughi, K., Kraiem, S., Fehri, W., Gamra, H., Lam, C. S. P., Mebazaa, A & Addad, F. (2023). Nurse-led home-based detection of cardiac dysfunction by ultrasound: Results of the CUMIN pilot study. European Heart Journal. Digital Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjdh/ztad079