Powerful Medical and the EIC Accelerator: AI That Spots Heart Attacks

Powerful Medical, based in Bratislava and led by co-founder and chief executive Martin Herman, makes PMcardio, an AI platform that analyses a photograph of a standard 12-lead ECG within seconds, and its Queen of Hearts model, which detects acute heart attacks caused by a blocked coronary artery, including cases that lack the classic ST-elevation pattern. In February 2024 it announced a €2.5 million EIC grant and a follow-on €5 million EIC investment, according to Powerful Medical. The grant project, "OMI AI ECG Model - application for more accurate heart attack diagnosis", received €2,499,999 towards a total cost of €4,495,967 and ran from January 2024 to June 2026, according to CORDIS.

On 15 September 2026 the US Food and Drug Administration granted De Novo authorisation to Queen of Hearts, creating a new device class for AI ECG models that flag urgent acute coronary syndrome, after a Breakthrough Device Designation in March 2025, according to Powerful Medical. The company says the CE-marked model detected more than 120,000 heart attacks in Europe in 2025, contributing to shorter treatment times in more than half of them. In July 2025 it was selected for more than €40 million of non-dilutive funding under the EU's IPCEI Tech4Cure initiative, according to Powerful Medical.

Where Powerful Medical Stands Now

In June 2026 Belgium's six-hospital AZORG network reported that in its first year PMcardio assisted more than 350 clinicians a month, analysed over 32,800 ECGs, identified more than 500 heart attacks and cut time to treatment by an average of 48 minutes, according to Powerful Medical. With FDA authorisation, the company is preparing deployment across US health systems. Its revenue and accounts were not accessible in free sources for this article.

The Technology: Seeing the Heart Attacks Doctors Miss

The ECG is the main test for a heart attack, but standard interpretation misses a significant share of acute heart attacks, especially "STEMI equivalents" without the textbook pattern, the company says. Queen of Hearts was trained to recognise occlusion myocardial infarction, where an artery is blocked, from an image of the tracing. PMcardio also flags 48 other abnormalities, such as heart failure and arrhythmias, and the company claims twice the sensitivity of current methods and detection up to three hours earlier.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The project promised an AI ECG model for more accurate heart attack diagnosis. It ended in June 2026 with the model CE-marked and in routine use across European hospitals, and three months later authorised by the FDA. The detection figures are the company's own; independent verification of them has not been published.

1. European approval and useDeliveredCE mark, hospital networks.
2. US authorisationDeliveredFDA De Novo, 2026.
3. Real-world impactReportedAZORG: 48 min faster.
4. Revenue disclosureUnverifiedNot public.

The Money

Powerful Medical's public funding is substantial: the €7.5 million EIC package and more than €40 million from IPCEI Tech4Cure. How much of the EIC's €5 million investment has been paid, and what the company earns from PMcardio, have not been disclosed.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, the company notes, and minutes matter in a heart attack. A Slovak company backed by EU money has built an AI device that is now authorised on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Verdict

Powerful Medical and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.