Wireless Long-Term ECG Monitoring

A new wireless monitor can track the electrical activity of the heart continuously and for extended periods of time via an electrocardiogram (ECG) from the upper arm.

The monitor can also record ECG data from other locations on the human body without wires, adhesives, or other equipment. The technology was developed by BodyMedia, Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA, USA), which has integrated it into the company's SenseWear armband, a wearable body monitor also sold to the weight-loss and fitness markets. The company points out that the monitor is especially noteworthy because it challenges conventional wisdom in electrocardiology that ECG can only be observed by using two electrodes spaced at considerable distance from each other, and that at least two electrodes must be closer to the heart than to each other.

The monitor performed well in both lab tests and free-living tests when compared to a holter monitor, reported researchers. The study was performed at Stanford University Medical Center Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Service (Palo Alto, CA, USA).

"These gathered heart rhythms, with the addition of the metabolic and contextual information this same device already collects, in a form that could deliver wearing compliance over months or even years, may open up several exciting new methods of clinical diagnosis, treatment, and management,”commented Dr. Amin Al-Ahmad, the study leader.




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BodyMedia, Inc.