By Andy Lundin

Summary: Eko Health’s AI-powered SENSORA platform has received a Category III CPT code, paving the way for improved heart disease detection.

Takeaways:

  1. Simplifying Heart Disease Detection: The SENSORA platform, which integrates with a digital stethoscope, uses AI algorithms to identify structural murmurs, low ejection fraction, and arrhythmias in frontline care.
  2. CPT Code for Reimbursement: The American Medical Association (AMA) has issued a Category III CPT code for the platform, effective July 2025, making it more accessible for clinicians.
  3. Easing Diagnostic Bottlenecks: By empowering clinicians to confidently interpret results, SENSORA may reduce unnecessary referrals and alleviate backlogs in diagnostic systems.

Early detection of heart disease could soon become easier and more efficient for clinicians, thanks to the recent issuance of a Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code for a new heart disease detection platform.

The American Medical Association (AMA) recently announced it had issued a Category III CPT code for Eko Health’s AI-powered platform, SENSORA, which integrates with a digital stethoscope for advanced structural murmur detection and arrhythmia assessment.

By improving diagnostic accuracy at the point of care, the platform may help alleviate workload strains being felt in medical and lab diagnostic settings, according to the company.

How the SENSORA Platform Works

The platform—which integrates with Eko’s CORE 500 digital stethoscope—relies on algorithms that identify signs of structural heart murmurs, low ejection fraction, and arrhythmias, in the front-line care setting. 

The Category III CPT code for reimbursement, effective July 2025, will soon make it a more accessible tool for clinicians.

“For providers to take even an extra minute or two to have AI-enabled clinical decision support applied to that in a 10-minute exam, it’s really important that we have some sort of supplemental reimbursement for that work and that effort,” says Jason Bellet, co-founder and chief business officer of Eko Health. “That really is the intention behind applying for a CPT code for this clinical decision support software because it isn’t just a stethoscope. It’s an entirely new layer on top of a stethoscope in the same way that there’s a lot of algorithms that are reimbursed for ECG today that sit on top of the actual ECG capture code.” 

Alleviating Strains in Healthcare and Lab Diagnostics

Bellet noted that echocardiogram systems are heavily backlogged, with referrals of normal-health patients unnecessarily adding to the strain. He says the SENSORA platform empowers clinicians to interpret findings confidently while retaining final decision-making authority, helping to prevent further bottlenecks in the diagnostic process.

“If clinicians suspect they may have heard something and they want to get a quick second opinion and the platform shows no murmur detected, that very well may kind of tip the scales for the provider not sending a patient for diagnostic testing,” Bellet says.

From a clinical lab perspective, Bellet says positive test results from the SENSORA platform can improve patient follow-through on subsequent specialist referrals and any necessary diagnostic procedures. 

“About 50 million Americans live in rural America, and it can be hard for them to take time off from work, and there’s typically an out-of-pocket expense,” says Bellet. “There’s a lot of reasons to be hesitant to show up to a specialist. And so, if you get the referral and a positive reading, we believe that patients will be more likely to show up for their visit.”

Bellet says ensuring that the right patients are referred and tested is a key clinical benefit, potentially accelerating diagnostic processes.

Andy Lundin is the associate editor of CLP.


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