Accelerating Access and Improving Imaging in Heart Failure Care (A2I2HF) Pilot Study

May 28, 2026 updated by: University of Alberta
This is a prospective, multicenter, cluster randomised trial which will assess the feasibility and acceptability of AI-assisted point of care echocardiography on HF detection and downstream care processes for patients with suspected HF discharged from the Emergency Department.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Heart failure remains underdiagnosed in frontline care settings, in part due to limited access to timely echocardiography. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted echocardiography may facilitate scalable bedside screening through automated image acquisition support and interpretation.

This is a prospective, multicenter, cluster randomised trial which will assess the feasibility and acceptability of routine implementation of AI-assisted point of care echocardiography on HF detection and downstream processes of care for patients with suspected HF being discharged from the Emergency Department.

This study will be carried out at 2 participating Emergency Departments (EDs) in Alberta, Canada. Each ED site will alternate monthly between Intervention (AI-assisted echocardiography) and Control (Usual Care) periods.

During intervention periods, patients with suspected HF will undergo AI-assisted echocardiography using a handheld point of care EchoNous Kosmos device by the treating ED physician. The US2.ai algorithm will generate an AI-automated echo report. During control periods, patients will be managed according to usual care.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
84

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Clinical Trials Project Lead
  • Phone Number: 1-800-707-9098
  • Email: aa2i2@ualberta.ca

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Adult patients age ≥18 years presenting to the emergency department (ED);
  2. with signs or symptoms of HF as per the treating physician and
  3. elevated natriuretic peptides (NT-proBNP >125pg/mL or BNP >50pg/mL), drawn as part of standard of care of evaluation in the ED.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. prior documented diagnosis of HF;
  2. any patient receiving renal replacement therapy;
  3. any patient receiving comfort or palliative care;
  4. pregnant or nursing patients;
  5. patient is planned for admission.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intervention
During each month-long Intervention period, an AI-assisted POCUS tool will be available for ED physicians use, at their discretion, to assess left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and diastolic function in patients presenting to the ED with suspected HF. The AI-automated echocardiogram report may be used in the referral pathway to the HF clinic if deemed clinically appropriate.
Device: AI-assisted point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)

ED physicians at both sites will be provided with 1 session of in person training in the use of the AI-assisted POCUS device within 4 weeks of randomization including,

  • Device set up
  • Demo of patient exam with POCUS device (to be used within its CE/Health Canada marked intended purpose or where deemed clinically appropriate by the treating physician).
  • Generation of AI-automated echocardiogram report for LVEF and diastolic dysfunction.
No Intervention: Control Period (Usual Care)
During each month-long Control period, the ED physicians will manage patients as close to "true" usual care as possible. There is no "placebo" arm. No actions will be undertaken to impede or prohibit care in the usual care arm.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of AI Assisted Point of Care Echocardiography Implementation
Time Frame: During the enrollment period.
Proportion of eligible patients successfully undergoing AI assisted echo assessment at the point of care.
During the enrollment period.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Diagnosis of heart failure (HF) within 90 days
Time Frame: At 90 days.
At 90 days.
Downstream health care resource utilization at 90 days and 1 year (e.g. rates of requests for echocardiography, cardiology referral, primary care appointments, HF hospitalization).
Time Frame: At 90 days and 1 year.
At 90 days and 1 year.
Proportion of patients with HF receiving GDMT within 90 days
Time Frame: At 90 days.
At 90 days.
Difference in ratio of the incidence of diagnoses of HF via hospital admission-based versus community-based pathways
Time Frame: At 90 days.
At 90 days.
Uptake and utilization: differential rates of uptake and utilization of AI Assisted echocardiography in the emergency department
Time Frame: During the enrollment period.
During the enrollment period.
Determinants of uptake and utilization of AI assisted echocardiography in the emergency department (clinician questionnaire)
Time Frame: During the enrollment period.
During the enrollment period.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Alberta

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Canadian VIGOUR Centre

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Justin Ezekowitz, MD, University of Alberta
  • Principal Investigator: Safia Chatur, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and University of Alberta

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 25, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 15, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 14, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 25, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 28, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • A2I2HF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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