NCT07756398Not yet recruiting
Importance of Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Early Detection of Valvular and Cardiac Diseases (IMPROVE)
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 3 Nov 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
Heart valve disease and weakened heart muscle (left ventricular systolic dysfunction) are common in older adults and often go undetected until serious complications such as heart failure develop. Detection currently depends on a clinician hearing a murmur and then ordering an echocardiogram, which is easily missed or delayed. This study tests whether a brief, artificial intelligence (AI)-guided handheld heart ultrasound - point-of-care ultrasound, or POCUS - performed by trained clinic staff during a routine visit identifies these conditions earlier than usual care. Primary care and geriatrics providers, rather than individual patients, are assigned by chance to one of two groups. Patients seen by providers in the AI-ultrasound group are offered a POCUS scan and a one-time blood test at their regular visit, and are referred for a confirmatory echocardiogram if the scan is abnormal. Patients seen by providers in the usual care group receive standard clinic care. Researchers will compare how often previously undiagnosed structural heart disease is newly identified in each group.
- Status (registry)
- Not yet recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 1088 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 4 Aug 2026
- Start date
- 15 Dec 2026
- Primary completion date
- 1 Jun 2028
- Lead sponsor
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Diseases
- Heart failure
- NCT number
- NCT07756398
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 1088
- From 15 Dec 2026 to the primary completion date, 1 Jun 2028
- 2 sites in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Other illness
- History of surgical or transcatheter intervention for aortic or mitral valve disease
- Self-reported structural heart disease
Lab values
- At least moderate aortic or mitral valve disease, or left ventricular ejection fraction 50% or less, documented on any prior echocardiogram
Other
- Provider (cluster) participants:
- Serving in a locum tenens or other temporary capacity
- Unwilling or unable to nominate an AI-POCUS champion from the clinic
- Patient participants:
- Echocardiogram performed within the past 5 years
- Significant frailty burden or comorbidities limiting life expectancy to
- 1 year or less
- Unable to provide informed consent
Who the study is looking for
- Provider (cluster) participants:
- Physician or advanced practice provider (physician assistant or nurse practitioner) practicing in primary care or geriatrics at a participating institution who independently assesses patients
- Patient panel comprising \>50% adults aged 65 years or older
- Sees patients in ambulatory clinic at least 1 day per week on average
- Agrees to participate, to undergo randomization, and to permit inclusion of all eligible patients from the panel
- Provides written informed consent
- Patient participants:
- Adults aged 65 to 85 years, inclusive
- Attending a scheduled outpatient visit at a participating geriatrics or primary care clinic
- Willing and able to provide written informed consent and, if the AI-POCUS screen is positive, to return for a confirmatory echocardiogram
Age in the registry: 65 years to 85 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (2)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Dallas | United States | Unknown status |
| Parkland Health Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Dallas | United States | Unknown status |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.