Omron to push AI-powered remote ECG diagnosis in India with Singapore firm

Omron is preparing to fully enter the Indian market for remote diagnosis of heart conditions from electrocardiogram (ECG) readings using artificial intelligence in the fiscal year ending March 2027.

The Japanese medical device manufacturer will work with Singaporean startup Tricog Health to analyse data from home and clinic ECG machines in as little as 10 seconds.

India has been slow to adopt ECG testing amid a lack of personnel with relevant expertise. Omron hopes to expand device sales and to generate new business in diagnosis.

Omron is collaborating with Tricog through subsidiary Omron Healthcare, with data sent via a cloud-based service for AI analysis with Tricog technology.

Omron's electrocardiographs are used to screen for atrial fibrillation – a type of arrhythmia that can cause strokes and heart failure. They can help in determining whether a fuller examination at a hospital is needed and preventing the condition of a patient at home from becoming severe.

Omron took a stake in Tricog Health India in 2023 and began a pilot project for a service for patients recovering at home in 2025. In fiscal 2026, the company will accelerate the business by expanding it to clinics and more homes.

Tricog, founded in 2014, rings up most of its sales in India. In addition to developing electrocardiographs for hospital examinations, it provides ECG analysis services that have been adopted by about 12,000 hospitals in India.

With 100-plus specialist physicians on staff, Tricog leverages its in-house AI for analysis, making for a rapid service that delivers results within six minutes of taking the ECG reading.

Omron projects that cardiovascular disease patients in India, the world's most populous country, will increase from roughly 110 million today to 230 million in 2050.

But the South Asian country's medical infrastructure remains underdeveloped, and ECG testing has lagged behind that in advanced economies.
 

Omron electrocardiographs display the risk of atrial fibrillation and other conditions in six categories. By incorporating Tricog's AI, the service delivers more accurate results via detailed waveform analysis. In clinic-based testing, analysis can be completed in as little as 10 seconds.

When patients with symptoms use the devices at home, Tricog physicians review the AI's findings to ensure accuracy.

The service helps clinic physicians assess risk even if they have only limited expertise in cardiology, while primary care doctors at hospitals can more readily formulate treatment plans and advise patients to seek follow-up visits.

India-based research firm Mordor Intelligence has forecast the country's telemedicine market to triple from 2025 levels to $10.5 billion in 2030. Omron plans to leverage Tricog's sales network to build a business that generates revenue from not only sales of ECG devices, but also service fees.

The company looks to expand the service to other emerging markets short on doctors with expertise in heart conditions.

In its five-year plan through the fiscal year ending March 2031, Omron positions ECG machines as one of 13 focus businesses. While the company's home blood pressure monitors — a product category pioneered by Omron — command a 50 per cent share of the global market and generate about 100 billion yen ($645 million) in annual sales, its sales from ECG devices languish at around 2 billion yen.

Hoping that expansion in India will accelerate the ECG business, the company aims to lift sales of ECG devices to 500,000 units, or 2.5 times the current level, in fiscal 2030.