VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USANewsGroup.comNews Commentary – The global AI cardiology market is on track to hit $2.78 billion this year and climb past $14 billion by 2034, and the reason is straightforward: software is replacing hardware as the backbone of cardiac diagnostics^[1]. That shift is already visible in portable ultrasound, where AI-integrated devices now anchor a $2.49 billion market projected to reach $3.84 billion by 2030, pulling advanced imaging out of centralized hospital departments and into emergency rooms, rural clinics, and even home care settings^[2]. It is a pivotal structural rotation, and a handful of companies are already positioned at the center of it: VentriPoint Diagnostics (TSXV: VPT) (OTCPK: VPTDF), iRhythm (NASDAQ: IRTC), Butterfly Network (NYSE: BFLY), Heartflow (NASDAQ: HTFL), and Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW).

The broader numbers reinforce the thesis. Separate research projects the AI cardiology sector growing at a 32.7% CAGR through 2034, reaching $20.31 billion as scalable machine learning tools standardize everything from ECG reads to echocardiographic analysis across care settings^[3]. And the value is concentrating where it matters most: AI cardiac monitoring software already captured the largest solution segment share in 2025 at 28.7%, confirming that software-defined platforms, not expensive hardware refreshes, are the primary catalyst for this cycle^[4].

VentriPoint Diagnostics (TSXV: VPT) (OTCPK: VPTDF) just locked in a new healthcare partnership in Central America. The Toronto-based medtech company announced a collaboration with the Health Division of the Montecristo Group to roll out its AI-powered cardiac imaging platform across Costa Rica's public and private hospital networks.

The technology at the centre of the deal is VentriPoint's VMS+™ system. It takes a standard 2D ultrasound scan and converts it into a detailed 3D model of the heart. The company says the results are comparable to a cardiac MRI, but without the million-dollar machine or the months-long wait list. Under the collaboration, VentriPoint and Montecristo will work on remote screening for congenital and structural heart disease, integration of VMS+™ into clinical research programs, and wider deployment across Costa Rica's medical system. The Metropolitano Research Institute, housed within Montecristo's Hospital Metropolitano, will lead the clinical work on the ground.

It’s worth noting that Montecristo's Hospital Metropolitano network also has an existing relationship with Sanford Health, one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States and a major provider of care to rural America. Sanford holds a minority equity stake in Montecristo's holding company under an agreement focused on sharing best practices, training, and operational expertise.

"We are excited to collaborate with the Health Division of the Montecristo Group to enable the adoption of VMS+™ technology in Costa Rica," said Hugh MacNaught, CEO of VentriPoint. "Their strong healthcare network, commitment to affordable high-quality care, and passion for innovation make them an ideal partner as we work to expand access to advanced cardiac diagnostics and support clinical research opportunities in central America."

Costa Rica is the latest addition to a footprint that has been expanding steadily, that bulds upon the hub-and-spoke model VPT is developing in cardiac care. VentriPointrecently partnered with First Light Health, an Indigenous-owned medical services company, to deliver AI-powered cardiac diagnostics to Indigenous and remote communities across Canada through a hub-and-spoke model. Local providers capture ultrasound scans on-site while specialists at a central hub handle interpretation remotely. That program covers British Columbia, Yukon, Alberta, Manitoba, and New Brunswick, building on an earlier partnership with the Nisga̱'a Valley Health Authority in northern BC. South of the border, the company also signed a commercial agreement with LG Consulting Solutions targeting cardiac centres in Northern California's Sacramento and San Francisco regions.

VentriPoint holds regulatory approvals in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Its VMS+™ platform is vendor-agnostic, meaning it works with ultrasound equipment from any manufacturer, and is built on more than a decade of proprietary Knowledge Based Reconstruction technology. The value proposition is straightforward: MRI-grade cardiac imaging at a fraction of the cost, deployable anywhere a standard ultrasound machine already sits.

CONTINUED… Read this and more news for VentriPoint Diagnostics at: https://usanewsgroup.com/2025/11/21/the-mri-grade-disruption-hiding-in-plain-sight-why-the-smart-money-is-watching-ventripoint

Other industry developments and happenings in the market include:

iRhythm (NASDAQ: IRTC) presented results from three retrospective analyses at the American College of Cardiology 2026 Annual Scientific Sessions demonstrating high rates of clinically actionable arrhythmias across cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic patient populations using the Zio ambulatory ECG monitoring service. Across a 657,147-person cohort, arrhythmias affected 48% of patients with chronic kidney disease compared to 35% without diabetes or CKD; in a separate 162,531-person analysis, severely obese patients had nearly threefold higher odds of atrial fibrillation detection. iRhythm also launched iRhythm Academy, a clinician education platform offering interactive courses, webinars, and micro-learning modules on ambulatory cardiac monitoring.

"The primary barrier to impact is no longer technical development or model performance — most AI across diagnostics, clinical decision support, and other domains work well," said Mintu Turakhia, MD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of iRhythm, delivering the 57th Annual Louis F. Bishop Keynote on scaling AI in cardiology at ACC.26. "We need to think of these tools not as point solutions or standalone tests, but rather as critical clinical infrastructure and integrated systems that are safely and responsibly deployed."

iRhythm's clinical evidence program encompasses more than 135 original research manuscripts and insights derived from over 3 billion hours of curated heartbeat data across nearly 12 million patient reports since inception.

Butterfly Network (NYSE: BFLY) secured the first FDA clearance for a blind-sweep ultrasound AI tool for gestational age estimation, integrated into its handheld ultrasound solution. The fully automated Gestational Age Tool uses a three-step process of fundal height entry, guided sweeps, and automated analysis to deliver a reliable gestational age estimate in under two minutes without image capture or fetal biometric measurements. Trained on more than 21 million images across diverse patient demographics and care settings, the model delivers results consistent with sonographer-performed biometry-based assessments for patients between 16 and 37 weeks.

"Improving maternal health outcomes and expanding access to prenatal imaging has become an urgent priority, and Butterfly is proud to be the first to bring this type of technology to mothers globally," said Sachita Shah, MD, Vice President, Global Health, Butterfly Network. "With FDA clearance, we now have an AI-powered tool that can help transform maternal health, both worldwide and here in the U.S., by addressing longstanding gaps in access to timely, reliable imaging and enabling earlier, more informed care."

The GA Tool has already been deployed in Malawi and Uganda through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and FDA clearance enables expedited expansion across additional regions in Sub-Saharan Africa and U.S. rural communities facing obstetric access gaps.

Heartflow (NASDAQ: HTFL) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Cleerly in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, asserting that Cleerly's Ischemia, Plaque Analysis, and Compare products infringe six Heartflow patents with priority dates from 2012 to 2018, predating any Cleerly product. Heartflow seeks permanent injunctive relief and damages arising from Cleerly's unauthorized use of its patented technology.

"Heartflow pioneered a significant medical technology that has touched over 600,000 patients' lives," said John Farquhar, CEO of Heartflow. “Our team has worked tirelessly since 2010 to develop the Heartflow Platform, a first-of-its-kind AI solution that has been used to detect and manage coronary artery disease. We take seriously our responsibility to protect the intellectual property that supports this field and the clinicians and patients it serves."

Heartflow maintains a robust intellectual property portfolio of over 600 granted patent assets worldwide, has been adopted by more than 1,800 institutions globally, and its platform is backed by over 600 peer-reviewed publications and ACC/AHA guidelines.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW) presented two-year data from the TRISCEND II randomized trial at the American College of Cardiology 2026 Annual Scientific Sessions demonstrating significant and sustained patient benefits of the EVOQUE transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement system. The data showed near elimination of tricuspid regurgitation, improvements in health status and quality of life, no added device-related risk, and significantly lower all-cause mortality when accounting for patient crossover; the EVOQUE system is approved in both the U.S. and Europe.

"Edwards remains focused on developing innovative solutions that meet the most pressing needs of patients with structural heart disease, and we're proud of the life-changing benefits demonstrated with the EVOQUE system," said Daveen Chopra, corporate vice president, transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies at Edwards Lifesciences. "In addition to TRISCEND I and II data, the growing body of evidence on EVOQUE includes data on more than 1,000 patients in the STS/ACC TVT Registry, demonstrating consistent near elimination of tricuspid regurgitation, improved quality of life, and a positive real-world safety profile across the broad tricuspid patient population."

The 18-month TRISCEND II data presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in August 2025 had previously shown a hard endpoint benefit in the most severe tricuspid regurgitation patients and superior quality of life benefits regardless of baseline TR severity.

Further Reading: https://usanewsgroup.com/2025/11/21/the-mri-grade-disruption-hiding-in-plain-sight-why-the-smart-money-is-watching-ventripoint

CONTACT:

USA NEWS GROUP
info@usanewsgroup.com
(604) 265-2873

DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. USA News Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. (MIQ). This article is being distributed for Baystreet.ca media Corp, who has been paid a fee for an advertising campaign. MIQ has not been paid a fee for Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd. advertising or digital media, but the owner/operators of MIQ also co-owns Baystreet.ca Media Corp. (BAY) There may also be 3rd parties who may have shares of Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd. and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. The owner/operator of MIQ/BAY own shares of Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd and reserve the right to buy and sell, and will buy and sell shares of Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd. at any time without any further notice commencing immediately and ongoing. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material, including this article, which is disseminated by MIQ on behalf of BAY has been approved by Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd.; this is a paid advertisement, we currently own shares of Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd. and will buy and sell shares of the company in the open market, or through private placements, and/or other investment vehicles. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between the any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.

SOURCES:

1. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/ai-in-cardiology-market-115767
2. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/04/09/3271157/0/en/Global-Portable-Ultrasound-Market-to-Reach-USD-3-83-Billion-by-2030-MarketsandMarkets.html
3. https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/press-releases/ai-in-cardiology-market
4. https://www.precedenceresearch.com/cardiac-ai-monitoring-and-diagnostics-market