I thought this was pretty cool and really interesting, and nice to post "happy" no big risk trials
Hope it works and is affordable
Here is part of the article the rest is at the link
http://www.theheart.org/article/1487817.do
"Worchester, MA - Innovative researchers have developed a smartphone-based application that allows patients to detect an irregular pulse caused by atrial fibrillation [1]. Two algorithms developed for the application that analyzed signals using an iPhone 4S successfully distinguished atrial fibrillation from sinus rhythm, report investigators.
"A number of patients who are referred to us have pretty symptomatic atrial fibrillation," said lead investigator Dr David McManus (University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worchester, MA). "So they are highly motivated to keep track of their episodes. We traditionally order Holter monitors and event monitors to capture the coming-and-going episodes of atrial fibrillation. I thought there was a potential role to leverage the fact that everybody has a smartphone and to use that as a means to do a sort of physiological assay of the patient."
The results of the study are published online December 7, 2012 in Heart Rhythm.
App uses camera and flash to measure chaos in pulse
To heartwire, McManus explained that patients often wear Holter and event monitors for up to 30 days in order to capture an atrial-fibrillation event, but some of the paroxysmal events are so infrequent that physicians might not even bother with the monitors. A phone-based rhythm-assessment tool would have positive implications for accessibility, allowing patients to record their pulse while the event is occurring to determine whether they are in fact having an episode of atrial fibrillation.
The application works using the smartphone camera and the flash to illuminate the fingertip when it is placed on top of the camera surface. Not unlike a pulse oximeter, which uses infrared light, the flash lens works to illuminate the finger as the camera records in real time the changes in the color of the fingertip. The changes in color act as a surrogate for blood flow, and this is in turn processed by a computer program embedded within the smartphone. Two algorithms—the root mean square of successive RR differences and Shannon entropy—analyze the degree of "chaos," or the variability of the pulse waveform.
"For the purposes of this study, we had patients keep their fingertip on the camera for two minutes, but we have that down now where we've shown that even one minute is sufficient," said McManus. "So it's a quick biopsy of person's pulse that appears to be highly accurate compared with a 12-lead ECG, which is what we used in this study"......
more at link
Hope it works and is affordable
Here is part of the article the rest is at the link
http://www.theheart.org/article/1487817.do
"Worchester, MA - Innovative researchers have developed a smartphone-based application that allows patients to detect an irregular pulse caused by atrial fibrillation [1]. Two algorithms developed for the application that analyzed signals using an iPhone 4S successfully distinguished atrial fibrillation from sinus rhythm, report investigators.
"A number of patients who are referred to us have pretty symptomatic atrial fibrillation," said lead investigator Dr David McManus (University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worchester, MA). "So they are highly motivated to keep track of their episodes. We traditionally order Holter monitors and event monitors to capture the coming-and-going episodes of atrial fibrillation. I thought there was a potential role to leverage the fact that everybody has a smartphone and to use that as a means to do a sort of physiological assay of the patient."
The results of the study are published online December 7, 2012 in Heart Rhythm.
App uses camera and flash to measure chaos in pulse
To heartwire, McManus explained that patients often wear Holter and event monitors for up to 30 days in order to capture an atrial-fibrillation event, but some of the paroxysmal events are so infrequent that physicians might not even bother with the monitors. A phone-based rhythm-assessment tool would have positive implications for accessibility, allowing patients to record their pulse while the event is occurring to determine whether they are in fact having an episode of atrial fibrillation.
The application works using the smartphone camera and the flash to illuminate the fingertip when it is placed on top of the camera surface. Not unlike a pulse oximeter, which uses infrared light, the flash lens works to illuminate the finger as the camera records in real time the changes in the color of the fingertip. The changes in color act as a surrogate for blood flow, and this is in turn processed by a computer program embedded within the smartphone. Two algorithms—the root mean square of successive RR differences and Shannon entropy—analyze the degree of "chaos," or the variability of the pulse waveform.
"For the purposes of this study, we had patients keep their fingertip on the camera for two minutes, but we have that down now where we've shown that even one minute is sufficient," said McManus. "So it's a quick biopsy of person's pulse that appears to be highly accurate compared with a 12-lead ECG, which is what we used in this study"......
more at link
