Zoll and Vicor Want to Predict Heart Attacks with a Device–One More Effort With Predictive Analytic Algorithms Using Medical Devices

I’ll be a little bit of a devil’s advocate here and discussed the stress of having a device that is going to sound off at any time and wonder if we are ready for this? Again the technology is good to be aware but has anybody thought about the psychological effects of such devices? Will we want to walk around with either an implanted or external device that can send off a “red” alert at any time? A couple days ago I posted about an implanted device that will basically do the same thing.

AngelMed Guardian System-Implanted Device to Alert Patients They Are Either Having or Are Close to a Heart Attack-Clinical Trials

Perhaps after using such a device over time some of the anxiety might lessen but initially I think anxiety is a concern with potential stress of a device going off and the response one may get. What if you have a false positive and it’s not a real heart attack, would that give you a heart attack? Nobody wants a heart attack, self included here and we of course want the best care but in the pursuit of early warnings is this something that we should also consider? Sometimes when the phone rings and I see it’s from someone I don’t want to talk to sets off some stress and that’s a minor issue compared to a heart attack by all means.

I think this sounds like it could be a good project for the folks who work with participatory sensing with devices to take a look at to make sure it’s done correctly and so we don’t have the stress of a device causing the opposite effect as you have to remember we have a lot of other mobile device action taking place today too. BD

Participatory Sensing – Medical Device Study at UCLA With Reporting Data

ZOLL Medical Corp. (NSDQ:ZOLL) and Vicor Corp. (NSDQ:VICR) have teamed up to provide patient monitoring systems that can predict imminent heart attacks and warn patients and caregivers in real time.

Vicor's PD2i analyzer uses a nonlinear algorithm to examine a heartbeat for patterns that reveal risky brain-heart interaction that could put a patient at risk of death.

"Given the PD2i(R)'s ability to detect a patient's risk of tachyarrhythmia in time for a warning to be issued to the patient and/or caregiver, we are pleased to be able to utilize this technology in our resuscitation devices, many of which are not only therapeutic but also used to monitor patients prior to an acute event," Zoll president Jonathan Rennert said in prepared remarks.

Heart health: Zoll and Vicor team up on heart-attack predicting devices | MassDevice - Medical Device Industry News