X-Message-Number: 25776
Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 14:20:28 -0800
From: Mathew Sullivan <>
Subject: Wireless Heart Monitor Calls for Help 

http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2005-03-09-2


Wireless Heart Monitor Calls for Help




Allows people with cardiac conditions to live freely with remote connection 
to doctor

Betterhumans Staff
3/9/2005 1:00 PM

Within a year, a group of Spanish researchers is planning to market a 
remote cardiac monitoring system aimed at giving people with heart problems 
greater independence, peace of mind and quality of life.

The system, developed over two years by the European 
<http://www.cordis.lu/ist/>Information Society Technologies project 
<http://www.gte.us.es/db/doc/web/proyecto.php?id=48&lang=uk>CardioSmart, 
will allow patients to have a doctor by their side whether they are at 
home, in the street or even in another country, according to scientific 
coordinator Jos  Manuel Quero at the University of Seville Engineering 
School in Spain.

Using <http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPRS>GPRS wireless technology and a 
small personal terminal connected to cardiac sensors, the CardioSmart 
system continuously monitors patients' heart rate and will automatically 
alert their doctor in the event of a problem, while the incorporation of 
GPS information allows emergency services to locate the patient.

"Unlike the monitoring systems that exist to date, which generally make the 
patient responsible for providing information either locally or remotely, 
CardioSmart is intelligent and automatic to allow continuous monitoring of 
a patient's heart condition," says Quero. "In most cases the doctor will 
know before the patient if a change in heart rate or some other abnormality 
occurs."

Independence and cost-savings

For patients, the system offers peace of mind and increased independence, 
avoiding the need for them to visit their doctor on a regular basis or 
remain hospitalized. For public health systems, it could help save money.

"When we launched the project a couple of years ago we estimated that 
equipping a patient with the system would cost around 40 euros per day. 
Now, however, we believe it would cost less than half due to the falling 
price of the technology," says Quero. "That compares, for example, to 
keeping a patient in a hospital, which in Spain costs around 180 euros per 
day on average."

Last year, Quero validated the system by using it while attending meetings 
across Europe. "Even I was surprised when I turned the terminal on in 
Britain, France or Germany and within 20 seconds my heart beat was showing 
up on a computer at our centre in Seville," he says.

Clinical trials are planned for this year to ensure the system complies 
with European healthcare legislation, and the project partners are looking 
to begin negotiations with a mobile service provider.

With files from <http://istresults.cordis.lu/>IST Results



 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"

[ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] 

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=25776