One of the newest breakthroughs in technology that helps detect problems with the heart involves the camera on your smartphone and is an easily downloadable app. With Johns Hopkins Medicine reporting that an astounding 84 million Americans are currently living with some form of cardiovascular disease, it is more important than ever to discover new ways to monitor patients.
Caltech released an article, along with Huntington Medical Research Institute and USC, that revealed the new app created by a group of talented engineers. This app connects to the camera on a person’s smartphone and then needs to be held up over the neck for approximately two minutes in order to complete its scan. The app will measure one’s left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) during that time. The Institute of Higher Learning stated that a 45-minute ultrasound was the best way to do this before the app was invented.
So what is a LVEF and how does it measure a patient’s heart health? The article reveals that the LVEF detects “the amount that the carotid artery displaces the skin of the neck as blood pumps through it.” A average individual would have a reading of 50 to 70 percent. If the heart is struggling, then that figure would be lower, and the patient would know he or she needs to seek medical advice.
The innovators tested the app on a total of 72 volunteers who ranged in age from 20 to 92. After determining each person’s LVEF, the trial runners put the volunteers through an MRI scan. The results were extremely positive. Caltech listed the apps margin of error as ±9.9 percent after comparing the app’s findings with those of the MRI.
Patients who are susceptible to heart disease will want to take advantage of the new app. However, these patients should still seek the care of a cardiologist, who may also want to monitor the individual in other ways. To learn about mobile cardiac monitors and how they are used to detect possible heart issues call ReactDx at 800-234-3278, or read our News & Updates page.
At ReactDx, we have been advancing diagnostic cardiology since 1981. ReactDx develops, manufactures, and provides service with the most reliable and sophisticated Mobile cardiac monitoring systems in the world. Since its inception, ReactDx has been at the forefront of the cardiac telemedicine industry – pioneering technology, improving existing technologies and adding new applications.