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FDA clears wireless cardiac monitoring device
The FDA cleared a portable cardiac monitoring device that offers ECG technology and a digital stethoscope for patients with heart disease, Eko Devices announced.
The handheld device enables remote monitoring and diagnosis for patients with any CV condition, according to a press release from the company.
The idea behind the device is to “analyze what those heart sounds convey, and at the same time, record an ECG so that we can match the heart sounds with the heart rhythm,” Ami B. Bhatt, MD, director of outpatient cardiology and the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, said in an interview with Cardiology Today.
“This enables both parties — the community local physician or nurse as well as the tertiary care doctor — to really have communication about the exam in a way that we weren’t able to have before. It enables us to have continuity of care.”
The handheld device (Eko Duo) can be used in the physician’s office or at home, and can seamlessly stream data for specialist or clinician monitoring.
“One of the most important things for patients and caregivers alike is knowing sick from not sick and stable from progressive,” Bhatt told Cardiology Today. “If a technology like this could be tried in many hands, data could be gathered and then algorithms could be built.” – by Darlene Dobkowski and Erik Swain
For more information:
Ami B. Bhatt, MD, can be reached at abhatt@partners.org.
Disclosure: Bhatt reports serving as a scientific advisor for Eko Devices.