ASE 2025 Research Spotlight 2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Natalie Costantino
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ASE 2025 Highlights Innovative AI Applications in Echocardiography

(DURHAM, N.C., September 5, 2025)—Echocardiography plays a foundational role in evaluating patients with suspected heart conditions such as tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and cardiac amyloidosis (CA). Both conditions can be challenging to diagnose accurately in clinical practice.

At the American Society of Echocardiography’s (ASE) 2025 Scientific Sessions, taking place Sept. 5-7, in Nashville, Tenn., researchers from two studies will present abstract presentations demonstrating how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance echocardiographic assessment of TR and CA to support clinicians and improve patient outcomes.

AI and Tricuspid Regurgitation

The first study, titled “An AI Model to Distinguish Moderate from Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation,” evaluates the performance of an AI model developed by researchers at the University of California, Irvine. The model was trained using echocardiographic data from more than 3,600 transthoracic echocardiograms to distinguish moderate from severe TR.

While severe TR is associated with death in more than one-third of patients within one year, patients may not be referred for intervention if they are considered high-risk for surgery. The study’s AI model accurately classified TR severity, providing a novel tool that can potentially improve TR assessment and help identify patients who may benefit from less invasive percutaneous therapies instead of open-heart surgery.

“TR is a serious heart valve problem that often goes untreated until it is too late,” says Dr. Jennifer Xu, clinical assistant professor of medicine at UC Irvine and the study’s presenting author. “Severe TR has traditionally been treated with open-heart surgery, which carries high risk. New minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures have revolutionized treatment, but patients often don’t live longer—perhaps because the disease is still being treated too late. Our work uses AI to improve how we detect severe TR on ultrasound, so patients can be referred earlier and benefit from these life-saving innovations.”

AI and Cardiac Amyloidosis Detection

In the second study, titled “Echocardiography and Artificial Intelligence in the Cardiac Amyloidosis Referral Pathway,” researchers explored how AI can improve early detection of CA by integrating it with routine echocardiograms.

The multi-center study developed an AI model by analyzing retrospective data from nearly 4,300 patients without CA and 560 patients with the condition. The AI model outperformed traditional diagnostic methods and demonstrated that combining AI-generated indicators with existing echocardiographic red flags—such as increased heart wall thickness or signs of heart failure— can enhance decisions about which patients should be referred for confirmatory CA testing. This approach proved effective in both low- and high-prevalence settings, supporting its use across a wide range of clinical environments.

Dr. Ashley Akerman, director of clinical sciences at Ultromics and the study’s lead author, emphasizes that integrating clinical expertise, diagnostic imaging, and AI has the potential to improve diagnostic accuracy, streamline cardiovascular care, and advance how heart disease is detected and managed.

“This new study shows that combining echocardiography—a widely available heart imaging test—with AI could significantly improve the early detection of CA, a serious but often overlooked heart condition,” says Dr. Akerman. “By using Ultromics’ EchoGo® Amyloidosis to enhance routine heart scans, doctors could better identify at-risk patients, reduce unnecessary testing, and ensure that those who need confirmatory diagnosis and treatment, receive it sooner.”

ASE 2025 will feature more than 450 research abstracts showcasing cutting-edge developments in cardiovascular ultrasound, along with case studies demonstrating breakthroughs in patient care. Learn more about ASE 2025 and view the full list of ASE 2025 research abstracts in the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography.

About the American Society of Echocardiography
The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) is the Society for Cardiovascular Ultrasound Professionals™. ASE is the largest global organization for cardiovascular ultrasound imaging serving physicians, sonographers, nurses, veterinarians, and scientists and as such is the leader and advocate, setting practice standards and guidelines for the field. The Society is committed to advancing cardiovascular ultrasound to improve lives. In 2025, ASE is celebrating its milestone 50^th anniversary.  For more information, visit the ASE website ASEcho.org or social media pages on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Bluesky.

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