Wireless ambulatory electrocardiography (ECG) is a type of ambulatory

electrocardiography Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity. It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of the electrical activity of the hear ...

with recording devices that use wireless technology, such as Bluetooth and smartphones, for at-home

cardiac monitoring Cardiac monitoring generally refers to continuous or intermittent monitoring of heart activity to assess a patient's condition relative to their cardiac rhythm. Cardiac monitoring is usually carried out using electrocardiography, which is a noninv ...

(monitoring of heart rhythms). These devices are generally recommended to people who have been previously diagnosed with

arrhythmias Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...

and want to have them monitored, or for those who have suspected arrhythmias and need to be monitored over an extended period of time in order to be diagnosed. Wireless ambulatory ECGs work in a way similar to a regular ECG by measuring the electrical potential of the heart through the skin. The data is saved on an application on a smartphone, and then uploaded to a computer through Bluetooth or

cloud technologies In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...

. The information can also be sent through these technologies or through email to a doctor or cardiac technician. Wireless ambulatory ECGs are able to provide voice alarm messages when cardiac abnormalities occur, such as

bradycardia Bradycardia (also sinus bradycardia) is a slow resting heart rate, commonly under 60 beats per minute (BPM) as determined by an electrocardiogram. It is considered to be a normal heart rate during sleep, in young and healthy or elderly adults, a ...

, and can record this information and provide a screen prompt for the patient to view the data. The devices can also store mass amounts of ECG data on the phone, replay the ECG readings at a high speed, and have a low-voltage alarm function to not waste the battery life. These characteristics of the devices are seen as benefits in comparison to current ambulatory ECG monitoring equipment such as the

Holter monitor In medicine, a Holter monitor (often simply Holter) is a type of ambulatory electrocardiography device, a portable device for cardiac monitoring (the monitoring of the electrical activity of the cardiovascular system) for at least 24 hours. T ...

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Recent technologies

1. CardioSecur ACTIVE is a smartphone based 15-lead mobile ECG for patients. While conventional ECG systems use ten electrodes to depict twelve standard leads, CardioSecur requires only four electrodes. CardioSecur's four-electrode technology has been clinically validated and is an alternative to ten electrode systems. It provides an instant and personalized evaluation of ECG recordings and offers patients an immediate recommendation to act according to the applicable guidelines of professional cardiological associations. CardioSecur ACTIVE allows cardiovascular patients to gain more certainty about their cardiac activity. Additionally, it enables physicians to diagnose heart diseases faster as treating physicians can access their patients' ECG recordings through a secure database to which the recordings are automatically uploaded. Furthermore, the ECGs can be easily shared via

iMessage iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. and launched in 2011. iMessage functions exclusively on Apple platforms: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Core features of iMessage, available on all supported platforms, includ ...

, email,

AirDrop An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible tro ...

AirPrint AirPrint is a feature in Apple Inc.'s macOS and iOS operating systems for printing without installing printer-specific drivers. Connection is via a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), either directly to AirPrint-compatible printers, or to non-compatible shar ...

. 2. Alivecor heart monitors are currently available in the United States, the UK, and Ireland. The device is a small handheld single-channel ECG recording device that immediately sends information to a smartphone. Recordings can then be sent to a cardiac technician or a certified cardiologist for a small cost. AliveCor obtains ECG traces through sensing plates, which can also be purchased through AliveCor. The plates are placed on fingers or the chest and the scan takes 30 seconds to complete. One of the benefits of AliveCor is the ability to record notes of how the patient was feeling prior to taking the ECG so that the physician has a clear picture of what the patterns indicate. Studies on the algorithm used in the technology have indicated that the device provides sufficiently accurate data to be able to diagnose atrial fibrillations. The accuracy has been found to be similar to Lead 1 data of a regular 12-lead ECG. 3. {{Proper name, iHealth created a wireless ECG monitor that is placed on the chest under clothing, and the data are sent to mobile phones and is readily available for healthcare professionals. The device is small and lightweight, making it easy to participate in daily activities. It uses Bluetooth technology to send the information to cell phones, but it can also be connected to a computer via USB cable. 4.

Qardio Qardio, Inc. is an American technology company that specializes in heart health monitoring products. It was founded by Marco Peluso and Rosario Iannella in early 2012. Qardio's first product, QardioArm, is a wireless blood pressure monitor that ...

created a wearable ECG monitor that wirelessly sends data to the smartphone for the user and health practitioners. The device can be worn every day to track heart health in real life. 5. Beurer produces a single-channel ECG monitor without dedicated electrodes that transmits data via Bluetooth to a smartphone. It is very small and easy to carry around, but is not designed to continuously measure data. The device returns a preliminary analysis of the ECG recording, and detailed data can be later on shown to a physician.
2015 Beurer GmbH

References

Health informatics Cardiology Medical monitoring equipment