British researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a machine learning algorithm to detect heart murmurs in dogs, which are a key sign of heart disease.
The algorithm, adapted from one used for humans, analyzes audio recordings from digital stethoscopes and can identify heart murmurs with 90% accuracy—similar to expert cardiologists.
Heart disease is common in dogs, especially in small breeds like King Charles Spaniels, making early detection important. This tool could help veterinarians catch heart problems sooner and provide timely treatment, improving dogs' quality of life.
Medication must be timely
“Heart disease in humans is a huge health issue, but in dogs it’s an even bigger problem,” said first author Dr. Andrew McDonald from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “Most smaller dog breeds will have heart disease when they get older, but obviously dogs can’t communicate in the same way that humans can, so it’s up to primary care vets to detect heart disease early enough so it can be treated.”
Professor Anurag Agarwal, who led the research, is a specialist in acoustics and bioengineering. “As far as we’re aware, there are no existing databases of heart sounds in dogs, which is why we started out with a database of heart sounds in humans,” he said. “Mammalian hearts are fairly similar, and when things go wrong, they tend to go wrong in similar ways.”
In humans with valve disease, the only treatment is surgery, but for dogs, effective medication is available. “Knowing when to medicate is so important, in order to give dogs the best quality of life possible for as long as possible,” said Agarwal. “We want to empower vets to help make those decisions.”
“So many people talk about AI as a threat to jobs, but for me, I see it as a tool that will make me a better cardiologist,” said Professor Jose Novo Matos. “We can’t perform heart scans on every dog in this country – we just don’t have enough time or specialists to screen every dog with a murmur. But tools like these could help vets and owners, so we can quickly identify those dogs who are most in need of treatment.”
The findings were published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
