ECHOIndications

ECHOindications is a free, fully public reference guide to the published Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for transthoracic echocardiography. It answers one question: when is a transthoracic echocardiogram considered appropriate, and what does the published guidance say? Entries are organised by clinical setting, symptom, and finding.

No account is required to use any feature. There are no in-app purchases, no subscriptions, no advertising, and no paywall. It mirrors the freely accessible website at echoindications.org.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Browse the indication library — filter by setting (primary care, secondary care inpatient, secondary care outpatient) to see only the entries relevant to you.

• Search by keyword or finding — look up by symptom, ECG or imaging finding, or concept (e.g. dyspnoea, raised BNP, bicuspid valve, post-MI).

• View full indication detail — each entry shows colour-coded appropriateness ratings for primary care, inpatient and outpatient settings; the urgency stated in the guidance (routine, soon, urgent, or not indicated); the source guideline; and plain-language notes explaining rationale and caveats.

• Use the scenario-based lookup — when you're not sure which indication to search for, start from a symptom, finding, or setting, and a step-by-step guide points you to the most relevant entry.

• Submit feedback — flag a missing, outdated, or incorrect entry, or suggest a new one. No account required.

SOURCES

Indications are derived from publicly available guidance from international professional bodies, supplemented by expert consensus:

• British Society of Echocardiography (BSE)
• British Heart Valve Society (BHVS)
• European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI)
• American Society of Echocardiography (ASE)
• ACC / AHA Appropriate Use Criteria for echocardiography and valvular heart disease
• Relevant ESC and NICE guidance

Every indication carries its source so you can verify it.

WHO IT IS FOR

• Primary-care clinicians looking up the criteria for an outpatient echocardiogram request
• Secondary-care inpatient teams checking whether an in-hours or out-of-hours echo is indicated in the published criteria
• Secondary-care outpatient clinics planning routine or surveillance imaging
• Echo lab staff checking a request against the published criteria, with a citable source
• Trainees, sonographers, students, and informed members of the public

PRIVACY AND DATA

ECHOindications does not require an account, does not collect personally identifiable information from end users, and does not show advertising. Feedback submissions are sent over HTTPS to the editorial team and are not displayed to other users. Reference content (indications, scenario guide, source citations) is fetched from echoindications.org and rendered in-app.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

ECHOindications is a not-for-profit reference. Content is curated by a small volunteer editorial team. The app is free to download and free to use in full, with no premium tier and no fee for any feature. It is self-funded by the developer.

A separate "Content maintainer login", reachable from the About screen, is provided for the volunteer editorial team to edit the indication dataset. End users do not need to sign in and do not see this functionality on the main screen — it is internal tooling for content curation, not a feature offered to users.

IMPORTANT — HOW TO USE THIS REFERENCE

ECHOindications is a reference tool that summarises published Appropriate Use Criteria. It is not a diagnostic device, does not provide personalised medical advice, and is not a substitute for professional clinical judgement. Ratings and source attributions may change as guidance is updated. Always interpret the published criteria in the context of the individual patient.

WEB VERSION

A web version of the same reference is freely available at https://echoindications.org.