CHICAGO & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AliveCor, the developer of a breakthrough mobile electrocardiogram (ECG) recorder, today announced results from a study that demonstrated how the company’s ECG monitoring device is intuitive and allows users to learn and characterize their heart rates by using the hand-held device in their hands or on their chest. The data from the credit card sized wireless device is designed to help physicians and health care providers monitor and assess their patients’ heart health for a variety of medical reasons.
The AliveCor smartphone ECG is an innovative, investigational medical wireless device which incorporates electrodes into a wireless case that snaps onto the back of a smart phone, allowing for wireless single-lead recording of 30-second rhythm strips that are stored securely in the cloud and the device itself. The ECGs are wirelessly downloaded for immediate interpretation using a variety of browsers. The AliveCor smartphone ECG is designed to work in conjunction with a range of mobile platforms, including iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
The results from this study were presented yesterday in a poster presentation at the American College of Cardiology 61st Annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago (Abstract # 1247-575) by Dr. David Albert, Founder & Chief Medical Officer of AliveCor and Dr. Leslie Saxon, Chief Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine and the director of the Center for Body Computing at USC.
Inventor Dr. Albert commented, “The implications of this technology for improving public awareness of health metrics and for early diagnosis of arrhythmias could be beneficial for physicians, their patients and for payers. Current monitoring systems for diagnosing arrhythmias are cumbersome, result in an inefficient use of health care resources, are subject to inaccuracy due to lack of patient compliance and fail to reach many patients who need better monitoring.”
The eight week study “iPhone Rhythm Strip: Clinical Implications of Wireless and Ubiquitous Heart Rate Monitoring,” enrolled 54 participants to determine how they use the device and were reviewed daily by Dr. Saxton, the principal investigator.
After using the device, 24 percent of subjects reached out to their private physicians for a consultation and 16 percent felt that they discovered a health condition previously unknown to them. Seventy five percent of participants requested continuation of the device usage after the eight week study period. Thirty-three percent felt that they were more health conscious after participating in the study and 88 percent thought that the device was transmitting accurate information. Participants indicated that they found the portability, ease of use, and the form factor to be key aspects of the device that were most conducive for use.
“The study provided us with important information required to optimize the device for physician and patient application,” commented Dr. Saxon. “This device incorporated into smartphones and tablets provides physicians and their patients with a clinical-quality, low cost heart monitor that will increase the global availability of advanced cardiac monitoring.”
About AliveCor
AliveCor has developed a clinical-quality, low-cost ECG recorder that enables patients to monitor their heart health anywhere, at any time and provides physicians with a more comprehensive assessment. The AliveCor smartphone ECG is designed to work in conjunction with a variety of mobile platforms, including iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
In 2011, AliveCor raised $3M in a Series A financing with Burrill & Company, Qualcomm Incorporated, acting through its venture investment arm, Qualcomm Ventures, and the Oklahoma Life Science Fund. The company is currently underway in clinical studies at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center and is seeking regulatory clearance for marketing approval of its iPhone ECG Case and Android ECG Card. For more information, please visit www.alivecor.com or e-mail info@alivecor.com.
About USC's Center for Body Computing
The University of Southern California Center for Body Computing (CBC) is an interdisciplinary brain trust that brings together USC’s Keck School of Medicine and USC's world-renowned School of Cinematic Arts with the university’s schools of Business and Engineering. The CBC, an independent center, creatively synthesizes medicine, engineering, business, communications, and entertainment arts into new paradigms that will innovatively enhance the quality of life, especially for the 2 billion people worldwide who lack access to healthcare. The CBC hosts the annual Body Computing Conference, which is known as the premier event of its kind. The CBC has developed award-winning medical applications, led significant research, and counts some of the world's most influential innovators as members.
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