NICE Draft Guidance Validation 2026

From 5 minutes to 3 seconds: How we are answering the echo capacity question

The publication of the draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence this February represents a major milestone for our company and for the future of echocardiography in the UK. After a thorough review of the available evidence, NICE has issued a recommendation that calls for more research into AI-assisted echocardiography.

While a headline asking for more research might sound cautious to an outsider, those of us working deep within the NHS ecosystem recognise this for what it really is. It is a green light to proceed with structured, real-world evaluations. It is a validation that this technology addresses a critical unmet need. Most importantly, it is a clear invitation for NHS Trusts to partner with us immediately to generate the final pieces of evidence required for national funding.

What the guidance says about our performance

The most significant takeaway from the consultation document is that the clinical debate regarding the accuracy of our AI is largely settled. The committee noted that technologies like EchoConfidence show good performance for detecting abnormalities indicative of heart failure when compared to human measurements.

Crucially, the document highlights specific findings from our interim FEATHER study which demonstrate the sheer speed of our technology. The NICE committee noted that in a UK community care setting, EchoConfidence reduced the mean time for analysis of echocardiographic parameters to just 3.2 seconds. This stands in stark contrast to the human readers in the study who took between 553 and 587 seconds to perform the same analysis.

Beyond just time, the regulator also looked at the financial impact. In their own economic modelling, NICE found that EchoConfidence was cost saving compared with standard care. Their base case analysis indicated a cost difference of around £3.14 per scan in favour of our technology. This saving is driven mainly by the potential to reduce the staff time required for each test.

The importance of UK data

One of the most encouraging aspects of the draft guidance is the emphasis NICE placed on UK-specific evidence. The committee highlighted a concern that is often overlooked in health tech, which is that AI models trained on foreign populations may not always be applicable to the diverse patients we see in the NHS.

The document noted that much of the evidence presented by other technologies in this category came from studies conducted outside the UK. NICE specifically pointed out that this creates uncertainty about whether those tools are suitable for NHS clinical practice.

In contrast, the committee explicitly referenced our work which is already taking place in community care settings here in Britain. The fact that NICE singled out our data as relevant to the NHS context validates our decision to build and test our technology here at home.

A clear framework for our pilot partners

NICE has provided us with a precise list of evidence gaps that need to be filled. Far from being a hurdle, this list acts as a blueprint for our upcoming pilots. We no longer have to guess what the regulator wants to see because they have told us directly.

To support routine funding, we need to demonstrate that the 3.2-second analysis time we achieved in the study translates into genuine service capacity in a busy hospital. We need to track exactly how long it takes for a human physiologist to review and verify the AI findings. We also need to demonstrate reliability across different types of operators, from junior staff to senior consultants.

This clarity is incredibly helpful. It allows us to structure our new NHS partnerships specifically to answer these questions. When a Trust joins our pilot program, they are not just trying out new software. They are participating in a nationally significant evaluation that is directly aligned with the requirements of the national regulator.

The path forward for NHS Trusts

The guidance makes it clear that while routine funding is not yet mandated, access to these technologies is permitted and encouraged through research or non-core NHS funding. This means that hospitals do not have to wait.

NICE has recognised that there is a significant backlog for echocardiography in England and they acknowledge that AI has the potential to reduce procedure times and help clear this backlog.

By designating this category for early use research, NICE has opened the door for forward-thinking departments to adopt the technology now. We are looking for partners who want to help us close these evidence gaps. We want to work with departments that are ready to prove that accurate AI doesn't just improve reports, but actually helps the NHS see more patients and save more money.

How to set up a pilot at your Trust

We are currently onboarding new NHS partners to join our National Capacity Pilot. If you want to see how EchoConfidence works with your specific workflow and discuss the funding options available for your department, please click the link below to speak with our team.

Contact Us: mycardium.com/contact

NICE Draft Guidance: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid- hte10067/documents