The Mayo Clinic once again has teamed up with app developer Preventice to work on a remote monitoring product, but this time it won't be an app--the software developer's sweet spot. It will be a wireless body monitor called Body Guardian to monitor irregular heart rhythms.
The miniature monitor can be worn, almost unnoticeably, under clothing and tracks heart and respiratory rates, ECG, physical activity and other vitals, according to a story in MedCity News. The data uses a patient's smartphone to transmit the data to a physician. It can be set up to monitor regular rhythms, but only transmit data to the doctor when a cardiac event is detected.
Interestingly, the device isn't just intended to monitor patients with known heart disease, but also to possibly diagnose patients with such conditions.
"If the physician feels that they can't diagnose the problem based on what the patient is saying, they may send the person home with the device," product development director Judy Eastman told MedCity.
The device is tiny--only 45 mm by 40 mm--and attaches to a bandage that can be worn for seven days at a stretch, Preventice officials said. It currently is in clinical trials in both the U.S. and Europe, and will be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for clearance later this year, officials told MedCity.
It may be Mayo's first foray into hardware, but certainly isn't the organization's initiation into mobile health. Mayo has participated with mobile health business incubator Rock Health, created meditation and dermatitis apps, and even created a new startup, mRemedt, to develop new apps from Mayo research projects.
To learn more:
- read the MedCity News story