Caption Health, maker of AI-enabled ultrasound guidance software, has entered into a partnership with Heartbeat Health to provide virtual cardiovascular care.

As part of the collaboration, Caption clinicians will perform ultrasounds where needed, including patients' homes. Heartbeat's virtual cardiologists will then interpret the results remotely and discuss findings with the patient's primary care providers. 

The new offering builds on earlier work where Caption and Heartbeat performed echocardiograms in high-risk populations to find signs of heart failure. The companies will offer the new program as a value-based bundle for providers, payers and value-based care organizations. 

"This is an ideal coupling of patient-centric services, which will open up access to life-saving early heart disease detection and Heartbeat Health's top-tier cardiologist network and virtual care," Caption CEO Steve Cashman said in a statement.

"Whether it's heart wellness for patients with risk factors, ambulatory care for patients with non-urgent symptoms or convenient follow-up echos to help patients avoid costly and complex readmissions, we believe our joint offering will have a profound impact on the quality and cost of cardiac care for millions of patients."

THE LARGER TREND

Caption has entered into several partnerships this year. In June, the company announced a collaboration with at-home provider Portamedic to offer its AI-enabled ultrasounds in patients' homes and other settings. It's also working with U.K.-based Ultromics to use its tools alongside Ultromics’ EchoGo deep ultrasound analytics.

Its software can also be used in handheld ultrasound-maker Butterfly Network's new platform.

Founded in 2013, Caption's guidance tool received FDA De Novo clearance in 2020. The company announced a $53 million Series B round later that year. Meanwhile, Heartbeat raised $20 million last year that built on an $8.2 million Series A from 2020. 

Another player in the AI-enabled ultrasound space is ultrasound devicemaker Exo, which recently announced it had acquired AI developer Medo. The company plans to integrate the AI tools into its platform so more clinicians can capture and interpret images.