Mayo Clinic and SandboxAQ are partnering to test the effectiveness of AI-powered magnetocardiography (MCG) technology for detecting cardiovascular diseases. The CardiAQ imaging system, which has the potential to be less expensive than other diagnostic imaging devices, works by assessing the magnetic signals of the heart.
"Our initial target indication is to help emergency department physicians make triage decisions faster for patients arriving at the ED with chest pain and symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome," Kit Yee Au-Yeung, director of SandboxAQ's medical devices division, told HCB News.
She added that she sees CardiAQ as an adjunct to ECG and troponin at the outset. It's still an investigational device and more data needs to be collected to show its safety and effectiveness, but Au-Yeung and her team have high hopes for it.
"As we collect more data, I can imagine one day CardiAQ can take on a bigger role as an initial test before physicians order other more costly and invasive tests like CT, PET, invasive diagnostic angiography," she said.
The system uses quantum sensors to detect minute variations in electric impulses and the magnetic field surrounding the heart. It's equipped with quantitative AI algorithms that can remove the electromagnetic interference in a hospital environment.
EKG, which is the most-used modality to measure a patient's overall heart health, can detect the electrical signals of a heartbeat, but it tends to get blurry as it travels through the body. MCG technology can generate a better view of the heart's electrical activity because the magnetic fields aren't affected by the body.
Current MCG devices on the market are large, expensive, and the users need specialized training to operate and interpret the results. Because of that, the industry has been slow to adopt this technology.
CardiAQ may change the game for the MCG device marker since it's portable, can be used at the point-of-care, and it only takes minutes to complete a measurement. It also doesn't require any shielding or cooling unlike CT and MR.
Au-Yeung believes that since it holds the potential to make faster and more accurate diagnoses, it could fill the gap between EKG or biomarker tests and CT or angiography exams.
The initial phase in the partnership between SandboxAQ and Mayo Clinic will involve a clinical research study to assess the relationship between MCG and the findings seen in angiography. It will take place this year and next at the Mayo Clinic.
To date, CardiAQ has been part of successful clinical studies at UCSF Medical Center and Mount Sinai West medical center in New York.
