AI Tool Flags Right-Heart Problems on Scans

Heart patients and clinicians in Massachusetts may see faster flags for right-ventricle problems if tools like DROID-RV reach clinical use.

Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Heart Disease

Matte gray ultrasound transducer with coiled black cable resting on a pale examination table in a quiet modern clinical room. — Mass General Brigham and MIT's Broad Institute researchers developed DROID-RV, an AI tool that flags right-heart abnormalities on routine echocardiograms, published in October in Nature Cardiovascular Research. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Researchers at Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT developed DROID-RV, a deep learning AI tool that estimates right ventricle size and function from echocardiograms. Findings were published in October in Nature Cardiovascular Research, and the work is relevant to heart patients and clinicians across Massachusetts.

Why it matters

The right side of the heart is harder to measure than the left, and abnormal right ventricle function is linked to heart failure and other serious outcomes. A tool that can flag these patterns on routine echocardiograms could help identify people who need closer follow-up sooner.

The DROID-RV model was validated for estimating right ventricle diameter and identifying reduced systolic function, with an average diameter error of about 3 millimeters. Its predictions were associated with heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and mortality risk, though the study size and design are not detailed here.

The players

Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute

A Massachusetts cardiovascular research and clinical institution that develops advanced heart imaging and diagnostic tools.

Broad Institute of MIT

A Cambridge, Massachusetts genomics and computational biology institute that collaborates on biomedical AI research.

The details

DROID-RV is trained to read echocardiograms, the ultrasound images of the heart, and estimate how large the right ventricle is and how well it pumps. It provides preliminary measurements and flags abnormal results so that clinicians can review them more closely. The tool may also help identify patients who should undergo additional MRI testing, which is considered a more detailed imaging option.

October 2026: Study findings published in Nature Cardiovascular Research.

Health Landscape

Most echocardiography AI has focused on the left ventricle, leaving right-heart assessment comparatively underdeveloped. A validated right-ventricle tool would add a measurement that clinicians have historically found difficult to standardize on routine scans.

If you have had an echocardiogram or have a heart condition, it is worth asking your cardiologist how right-heart function was assessed and whether any further imaging is needed. Tools like this are still research-stage, so they do not change current testing unless your care team adopts them.

The takeaway

Right-heart function is an important but often under-measured predictor of heart problems, and AI tools may eventually make it easier to check. Ask your cardiologist whether your echocardiogram reported right ventricle size and function.