US-based healthcare technology company Eko Health has raised $41m in a Series D financing round, to enhance AI applications for the early detection of heart and lung diseases.

Eko Health secured funding from ARTIS Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, NTTVC, and Questa Capital.

New investors including Double Point Ventures, Singapore-based EDBI, and LG Technology Ventures, backed by the LG Group, also participated in the funding round.

The financing builds on recent commercial and clinical milestones, including US FDA approvals for its structural heart murmur and low ejection fraction (Low EF) detection algorithms.

Eko Health intends to use the financing to enhance its presence in the US and expand its early disease detection platform into key international markets.

Building on new funding and regulatory clearances, Eko intends to rapidly expand its AI-powered cardiac and pulmonary disease detection platform.

Its AI platform will help healthcare professionals improve patient outcomes, said Eko Health.

Eko Health CEO and co-founder Connor Landgraf said: “Eko harnesses AI to unlock universal access to expert-level cardiac and pulmonary disease detection for patients everywhere.

“Just as Ring transformed doorbells into home security systems, Eko has reinvented the world’s most ubiquitous medical tool into a powerful early disease detection platform, creating the world’s largest install base of professional AI-enabled cardiology devices.”

A study at Massachusetts General Hospital validated Eko’s murmur detection algorithm.

The study found that the murmur algorithm doubles the identification rates of structural heart murmurs compared to conventional practice in primary care.

Eko’s low EF detection algorithm, developed in partnership with Mayo Clinic, was to significantly enhance the identification of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in GP clinics.

Its diagnostic platform enhances disease detection and reduces diagnostic bottlenecks, enabling earlier interventions and better patient outcomes, said the medical device company.

Eko Health board chair and ARTIS Ventures partner Vas Bailey said: “Eko has spent the past decade building an unparalleled dataset of digital heart and lung sounds, which it leverages to develop clinical AI for the physical world.

“Like countless others, I lost a parent much too early to undetected heart disease. I am deeply inspired by the team’s dedication to saving lives by equipping hundreds of thousands, and soon millions, of clinicians worldwide with our groundbreaking early detection platform.”