Frequently asked questions

Veterinarians typically use an analog stethoscope to listen for heart and lung sounds during route medical check-ups; however, detecting a heart murmur in dogs with a stethoscope could be challenging for many reasons.

Murmurs may be inaudible – Soft or moderate murmurs may be missed or overheard.

Murmur location – Some murmurs may be missed if the stethoscope is not placed over a murmur’s highest point of intensity.

Busy clinic – The activity and sounds in a busy clinic, as well as panting or stressed dogs, make subtle murmurs difficult to detect.

Dog anxiety – Stressed dogs have increased heart rates, which may make detecting murmurs or arrhythmias more challenging.

Dog obesity – Obesity results in muffled heart sounds which may reduce the sensitivity of detecting heart murmur.

Experience – Veterinarians with limited experience with murmurs in dogs may have a harder time detecting a heart murmur. 

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eko Health have collaborated on a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based solution to help veterinarians detect heart murmurs in dogs. Created specifically for canine cardiac health, it combines the Eko CORE^™ Digital Attachment, an expert-validated CANINEBEAT^® AI algorithm, and an intuitive Eko Vet+^™ App.

The Eko Vet+^™ App incorporates expert-validated insights from the embedded CANINEBEAT^® AI algorithm, as well as shareable murmur images, enabling informed pet owner conversations and collaborative decisions about a dog’s heart and any treatment needs.

It helps veterinarians identify heart murmurs in dogs that might otherwise go unnoticed, thanks to a three-component solution. Using the Eko CORE^™ Digital Attachment added to a stethoscope, a veterinarian performs auscultation of a dog during a regular clinic exam. The CANINEBEAT^® AI algorithm, enables the veterinarian to detect canine heart murmurs associated with structural heart disease with more than 95% sensitivity and specificity.

The Eko Vet+ ^™ app provides a PDF report and a phonocardiogram recording of the dog´s heart sounds, as well as a normal example to help compare the two. The PDF report includes a QR code that can be scanned so that veterinarians and pet owners can scan to listen to the heart sound recording.

The Eko Vet+^™ App allows clinicians to record, store, annotate, and share auscultation data within current workflows or electronic health records. 

Heart disease affects approximately 10% of dogs in their lifetime, but the detection of heart murmur, the earliest sign of a heart condition, can be challenging, especially in busy veterinary clinics. 

By supporting veterinarians in the detection of possible heart murmurs earlier in the disease process with a validated AI-based solution, the solution may help veterinarians decide when further diagnostic work‑up (e.g., imaging) is appropriate and support treatment. This may lead to an increased survival time and improved quality of life.

No. CANINEBEAT^® AI does not replace diagnostic imaging. It is a supportive tool designed to aid veterinarians in the detection and grading of possible heart murmurs as part of the clinical examination. Decisions on further diagnostic steps, including whether and when to use imaging, remain entirely based on the veterinarian’s clinical judgement, the individual patient, and the overall clinical context.

Educators and clinic leads see Eko Vet+^™ | CANINEBEAT^® Al as a powerful tool to support teaching and training. Real‑world examples and visualisations of canine heart murmurs can help students, newly graduated veterinarians, and nurses develop auscultation skills and confidence, supporting consistent learning across the team.

Boehringer Ingelheim is proud to collaborate with Eko Health to offer an innovative digital auscultation solution that supports veterinarians in the assessment of canine cardiac health. 

Eko Health is a pioneering AI early disease detection company advancing how healthcare professionals detect and monitor heart and lung disease with its portfolio of digital stethoscopes, ECG devices, software, and AI-powered analysis. Its FDA-cleared platform, with more than 700,000 devices sold worldwide, helps clinicians detect earlier and manage treatment more effectively to improve patient outcomes.

Boehringer Ingelheim is offering the new digital auscultation solution as a bundled package to veterinary customers in initial selected countries. The package includes the Eko CORE^™ Digital Attachment and a 12-month Eko Vet+^™ App subscription access, which includes the embedded CANINEBEAT^® AI algorithm. 

Eko Health is also selling its Eko CORE^™ Digital Attachment to veterinarians in these markets through its online retail channels, in which case customers need to buy a subscription to the Eko Vet+^™ App subscription separately, which includes the embedded CANINEBEAT^® AI algorithm.

As of April/May 2026, the full solution including CANINEBEAT^® AI is available in the in the U.S., U.K. and Germany. Several other countries plan to introduce the solution later this year and into 2027.

Boehringer Ingelheim is excited to continue to advance canine cardiology with CANINEBEAT^® AI integrated into Eko Vet+^™. The availability and financial terms will vary in markets based on local legal and regulatory requirements. Please ask your Boehringer Ingelheim representative for more information.

Following the initial launch in April/May in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, further countries will follow later in the year. France, Spain, and Italy plan to introduce the solution later this year – and others into 2027.

The Eko Vet+^™App will only be available through app stores in the countries where the full digital auscultation solution integrating CANINEBEAT^® AI is being marketed. As of April 2026, that includes the US and UK, followed by Germany in May 2026. Boehringer Ingelheim and Eko Health are enthusiastically pursuing future availability in other countries around the world.

No, but veterinarians can share a PDF report containing the findings with the pet owner, which includes a QR code that can be scanned to listen to the heart sound recording. They can listen to the recording together, as well as a normal heart sound recording for comparison, and discuss any recommended next steps for the dog’s care.

The Eko CORE^™ Digital Attachment connects to most single-tube stethoscopes, instantly upgrading them with advanced digital capabilities. It amplifies heart sounds up to 40x, filters out background noise, and applies cardiac-specific sound processing – enabling veterinarians to hear more subtle murmurs even in busy clinics. 

The CANINEBEAT^® AI algorithm has been trained on more than 4,000 canine heart sound recordings and validated by veterinary cardiologist experts. Validation studies confirmed that the CANINEBEAT^® AI algorithm detects heart murmurs associated with structural heart diseasein dogs with more than 95% sensitivity and specificity. We look forward to presenting more details at future congresses and in journal publications.

CANINEBEAT^® AI was trained and validated on more than 4,000 canine heart sound recordings. The AI is a static system and only trained on past recordings provided and annotated by cardiologists. Using validated sound samples supports consistent, repeatable performance across patients and visits and helps reduce the risk of bias with non-validated sounds that can happen in an open, continuously learning systems.

An internal team of Boehringer Ingelheim veterinary experts designed the CANINEBEAT^® AI algorithm and partnered with veterinary cardiology experts around the world to review, test and validate its approach, accuracy and reliability.