SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vital Connect announced today that it has entered into a partnership agreement with LifeWatch, a leading outpatient cardiac monitoring company. LifeWatch will use Vital Connect’s HealthPatch® MD as part of its cardiac telemetry service for continuous monitoring for a range of arrhythmias.
LifeWatch provides a comprehensive platform of services and technologies that aid physicians in diagnosing cardiac arrhythmias in patients who have had symptoms such as fainting, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, chest pain or who have suffered a stroke. HealthPatch MD complements LifeWatch’s existing products by providing high-quality ECG data used in detecting arrhythmias in the form of a small adhesive patch.
HealthPatch MD is FDA-cleared and CE-marked, and provides continuous, medical-grade data that is transmitted wirelessly to LifeWatch for analysis. HealthPatch MD can be worn on a patient’s chest 24 hours a day at home or work, and while exercising or bathing. HealthPatch MD is capable of continuous wireless transmission of vital signs, including electrocardiography (ECG), heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature, activity (including step count) and posture (body position relative to gravity, including fall detection).
Mobile cardiac telemetry devices with continuous data, similar to the combination of HealthPatch MD and the LifeWatch telemetry service, have been shown to be more effective than Holter monitors or event recorders. A research study published in Medical Devices: Evidence and Research 2014 volume 7, found that mobile cardiac telemetry devices detected more than twice as many arrhythmias as Holter monitors or cardiac event recorders in a retrospective review of 200,000 patients.
LifeWatch, in combination with HealthPatch MD, will provide a new entry to the growing cardiac telemetry market. According to a report by IHS InMedica, the remote cardiac monitoring market was $686 million in 2011 and is expected to grow more than 25 percent by 2016.
“Physicians need accurate measurements to properly diagnose a cardiac condition. However, if patients are required to wear equipment with wires that prevents them from engaging in their regular daily activities, they will be less likely to adhere to monitoring instructions,” said Vital Connect CEO Nersi Nazari. “We designed HealthPatch MD as a device that patients can put on, wear comfortably and forget about for days at a time without sacrificing the quality of the real time data being collected. We are delighted to partner with an established cardiac monitoring market leader such as LifeWatch to bring this technology to patients.”
Vital Connect offers a platform, including software, that enables partners like LifeWatch to integrate with the HealthPatch MD device. LifeWatch joins Vital Connect’s growing portfolio of partnerships with leading healthcare companies that value the accurate, medical-grade vital signs delivered by HealthPatch MD in a patient-friendly form factor. For more information visit www.vitalconnect.com.
About Vital Connect, Inc.
Vital Connect is a growing Silicon Valley-based company founded in 2011 with the goal of developing the newest generation of technologies that help address some of the most challenging healthcare issues in the world today. Vital Connect’s extensive expertise enables the company to create wireless, wearable biosensors that are small, powerful and capable of capturing clinical-grade biometric measurements in a continuous, configurable and non-obtrusive manner. Through various partnerships, Vital Connect solutions will be available for use in hospitals, research facilities, doctor’s offices, care facilities and homes. For more information, visit: www.vitalconnect.com.
About LifeWatch AG
LifeWatch AG, headquartered in Neuhausen am Rheinfall and listed on SIX Swiss Exchange (LIFE), Switzerland, is a leading healthcare technology and solution company specializing in advanced telehealth systems and wireless remote patient monitoring services. LifeWatch’s services provide physicians with critical information to determine appropriate treatment and thereby improve patient outcomes. LifeWatch AG has operative subsidiaries in the United States, in Switzerland and in Israel, and is the parent company of LifeWatch Services Inc., and LifeWatch Technologies, Ltd. LifeWatch Services, Inc. is a leading U.S.-based provider of cardiac monitoring services and home sleep testing of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). LifeWatch Technologies Ltd., based in Israel, is a leading developer and manufacturer of telemedicine products. For additional information, please visit www.lifewatch.com.
