September 9, 2021SensorsOpen Access

Anytime ECG Monitoring through the Use of a Low-Cost, User-Friendly, Wearable Device

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Why the study?

Cardiovascular pathologies with sporadic symptoms like atrial fibrillation are difficult to detect using standard ECGs or Holters, and existing portable devices lack wearability, wireless capability, or sufficient recording quality.

Does the ECG WATCH provide reliable ECG recordings and accurate atrial fibrillation detection compared to certified devices?

Structured PICO

Does the ECG WATCH provide reliable ECG recordings and accurate atrial fibrillation detection compared to certified devices?

Population

30 human subjects and an official ECG simulator

Intervention

ECG WATCH (a low-cost, wearable, single-lead ECG device) and associated smartphone app

Comparator

Certified electrocardiograph and certified ECG simulator

Outcome

Quality of ECG recordings and accuracy of automatic atrial fibrillation detectionsurrogate

The ECG WATCH is a promising, low-cost, wearable device for anytime cardiac health monitoring and atrial fibrillation detection.

Implication

Wearable AF sensors may aid sporadic detection; leaves open clinical validation before any practice change.

Abstract

Every year cardiovascular diseases kill the highest number of people worldwide. Among these, pathologies characterized by sporadic symptoms, such as atrial fibrillation, are difficult to be detected as state-of-the-art solutions, e.g., 12-leads electrocardiogram (ECG) or Holter devices, often fail to tackle these kinds of pathologies. Many portable devices have already been proposed, both in literature and in the market. Unfortunately, they all miss relevant features: they are either not wearable or wireless and their usage over a long-term period is often unsuitable. In addition, the quality of recordings is another key factor to perform reliable diagnosis. The ECG WATCH is a device designed for targeting all these issues. It is inexpensive, wearable (size of a watch), and can be used without the need for any medical expertise about positioning or usage. It is non-invasive, it records single-lead ECG in just 10 s, anytime, anywhere, without the need to physically travel to hospitals or cardiologists. It can acquire any of the three peripheral leads; results can be shared with physicians by simply tapping a smartphone app. The ECG WATCH quality has been tested on 30 people and has successfully compared with an electrocardiograph and an ECG simulator, both certified. The app embeds an algorithm for automatically detecting atrial fibrillation, which has been successfully tested with an official ECG simulator on different severity of atrial fibrillation. In this sense, the ECG WATCH is a promising device for anytime cardiac health monitoring.