OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) — A medical technology company led from Oklahoma City is using acoustic analysis and advanced algorithms to help physicians assess patients with chest pain without radiation, needles, or immediate access to specialized cardiac imaging.
Acarix developed the CADScor System, a small diagnostic device designed to help physicians evaluate a patient’s likelihood of significant coronary artery disease.
A sensor placed on the patient’s chest listens to subtle sounds from the heart for several minutes. The system analyzes those acoustic signals alongside basic patient information and produces a score physicians can consider when determining whether further cardiac testing is appropriate.
“Many patients with chest pain are sent for more advanced cardiac testing, even though most will not have significant coronary artery disease,” said Aamir Mahmood, CEO of Acarix. “The CADScor System gives doctors a fast, non-invasive first step that can help identify low-risk patients and determine who may need further cardiac evaluation.”
The company’s work reflects the focus of Oklahoma Competes, a State Chamber initiative examining how innovation, research, workforce development, and private investment can strengthen Oklahoma’s economy and improve quality of life.
For Mahmood, Acarix also represents an opportunity to demonstrate that medical technology companies can grow from Oklahoma while serving patients across the country.
Improving decisions at the point of care
Chest pain can lead to weeks of uncertainty, specialist appointments, and expensive testing. Those delays can be especially difficult for patients who live far from cardiologists or advanced imaging facilities.
The CADScor System is intended to provide additional objective information during a routine clinical visit.
“For patients, it’s about getting answers sooner, in a normal exam room, without needles, radiation, or necessarily having to travel to a specialty center,” Mahmood said.
The device does not diagnose patients independently or replace a physician’s judgment. It uses advanced signal processing and a clinically validated algorithm to detect acoustic information the human ear cannot identify through a traditional examination.
Mahmood compared the technology to a highly sensitive digital stethoscope paired with analytical software.
“It can detect and analyze information that isn’t available through a traditional examination and turn it into a score the physician can use as part of clinical decision-making,” he said.
In the Dan-NICAD I and Dan-NICAD II studies, the system demonstrated a negative predictive value of approximately 96% among the populations studied, according to Acarix. Negative predictive value measures how reliably a test identifies patients who are unlikely to have the condition being evaluated.
Mahmood said that performance could help physicians identify appropriate low-risk patients earlier while preserving advanced testing and specialist capacity for patients more likely to need it.
Innovation with a rural application
The technology may be particularly useful in rural and underserved communities where access to cardiologists, imaging equipment, and specialized testing is limited.
A CADScor device can be placed in a physician’s office, primary care clinic, or rural health facility, allowing cardiac assessment to begin closer to where the patient lives.
“Distance, cost, and limited specialist availability can all create barriers to care in rural communities,” Mahmood said. “Bringing point-of-care cardiac assessment closer to where patients live has the potential to improve access and help patients move through the appropriate care pathway sooner.”
That practical application is central to the Oklahoma Competes framework. Innovation is valuable when it helps solve real problems, expands access, creates skilled jobs, attracts investment, and improves the state’s economic competitiveness.
Medical technology sits at the intersection of several Oklahoma Competes priorities, including research commercialization, advanced technology, workforce development, and rural infrastructure.
Growing a MedTech company from Oklahoma
Mahmood, an Oklahoma native, leads Acarix’s global commercial strategy from Oklahoma City. He said the location offers advantages beyond his personal connection to the state.
Oklahoma’s universities produce graduates in health care, engineering, and business, while the state’s central location supports product distribution, physician training, and relationships with health systems across the country.
“Oklahoma City is close to everywhere, and it’s a place where I believe MedTech can genuinely take root, not just survive,” Mahmood said.
“Oklahoma City is close to everywhere, and it’s a place where I believe MedTech can genuinely take root, not just survive.”
– Aamir Mahmood, CEO of Acarix
He also pointed to Oklahoma’s operating costs and business environment as advantages for companies seeking to grow outside traditional coastal technology centers.
“I believe Oklahoma has an opportunity to become a meaningful center for MedTech innovation, particularly as the country looks for new ways to expand access to health care in rural communities,” he said.
Connecting Oklahoma’s innovation assets
Mahmood said Oklahoma already has many of the institutions and resources needed to support a larger medical technology sector. The challenge is connecting them more deliberately.
Medical technology companies need technical talent, clinical partners, research institutions, early-stage capital, and experienced business leadership. When those resources are fragmented, founders may leave the state to find what they need.
“The next step is building the kind of ecosystem where a MedTech founder can find capital, find talent, and find clinical partners without having to leave the state,” Mahmood said.
He identified continued investment in STEM and health sciences education, greater access to early-stage capital, and stronger collaboration among companies, universities, physicians, and health systems as key priorities.
“Oklahoma has many of the right ingredients,” he said. “The opportunity now is to connect them in a way that allows companies to start here, grow here, and ultimately serve patients across the country.”
That is the larger goal of Oklahoma Competes: identifying the policies, partnerships, and investments Oklahoma needs to turn its existing assets into sustained economic growth.
For Acarix, success over the next several years would include broader adoption of the CADScor System, continued reimbursement progress, additional clinical evidence, and expanded use in rural and underserved markets.
It would also demonstrate that a medical technology company can grow from Oklahoma City.
“If we do this right, we can help change how patients are evaluated for coronary artery disease while also showing that Oklahoma can be an important part of the future of health care innovation,” Mahmood said.
