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April 24, 2024 — Heart Test Laboratories, Inc. d/b/a HeartSciences, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered medical technology company focused on transforming ECGs/EKGs to save lives through earlier detection of heart disease, today announced that its European Patent Office Application EP3834729 has been granted.
Diastolic dysfunction (impaired cardiac relaxation) is a sensitive and crucial indicator of overall heart health, providing one of the earliest signs of heart disease, with onset typically occurring before symptoms. Diastolic dysfunction is caused by all common issues that affect heart function or that produce hypertrophy. All patients with heart disease have diastolic dysfunction, in contrast to systolic dysfunction (reduced pumping of blood by the heart or reduced ejection fraction), which only affects a subset of patients and typically occurs at a more severe, often symptomatic, stage of heart disease.
Today, measures of diastolic function of the heart need to be assessed in a specialist cardiology environment, typically using echocardiography-based imaging. The ability to assess cardiac diastolic function using an ECG makes it a far more valuable cardiac screening tool, particularly in frontline or point-of-care clinical settings.
Andrew Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of HeartSciences, commented, “We are pleased to receive this latest patent grant which further reinforces our position at the forefront of AI-ECG. This patent is particularly valuable because it covers the use of AI-ECG to produce any echo measure of diastolic function, which is fundamental to screen for a broad range of heart disease at an early stage.”
“Millions of ECGs are performed worldwide every week, and the ECG is the most ubiquitous cardiac test. The addition of cardiac dysfunction detection to the ECG is expected to provide significant benefit to healthcare providers and health systems around the world. Cardiovascular disease accounts for an estimated 32% of all deaths worldwide and AI-ECG is set to play a significant role in heart health screening worldwide. In recent years, we have conscientiously built an extensive international intellectual property portfolio across major markets. These patents are expected to provide a significant competitive advantage and intrinsic corporate value as AI-ECG is set to drive significant growth in the ECG market to $25 billion per year by 20321,” concluded Mr. Simpson.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued eight utility patents and one design patent to HeartSciences, with patent expiration dates ranging from March 2031 through August 2040. HeartSciences also has 14 international design registrations and 20 international utility patents granted in jurisdictions such as China, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Australia, with expiration dates ranging from September 2036 through March 2037.
For more information: www.heartsciences.com
September 19, 2022 