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AliveCor ECG comes to Android, transmits your palpitations to Instagram

Timothy J. Seppala
Reporter
Updated ·4 min read
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If you've been gazing longingly at the AliveCor Heart Monitor but an Android affinity has kept you out in the cold, its developer has good news. Starting today, AliveCor's clinical-quality (and now FDA-approved) ECG is compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S III, S4 and the HTC One. The device itself is available as a standalone accessory, but users of select handsets can pick up a case with it built in. What's more, the unit is on sale today for $199 through the developer's website, in case you need to keep an eye on your ticker at all times.

If your heart really does beat faster when you hold your loved ones, you can now share that on Instagram too; the University of Southern California has created BioGram, an app that pairs with AliveCor's tech to do slap your heart's BPM over the top of your sepia-tinged photos. Awww.

DNP AliveCor ECG app now on Android


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USC Center for Body Computing Demos First Ever Heart Rate-on-Instagram App

"BioGram" app creates emotional-and fun-experiences by bringing biostatistics to social networking platforms

LOS ANGELES, October 4, 2013--The USC Center for Body Computing demonstrated its BioGram app today at its 7th Annual USC Body Computing Conference. The app allows users to take their heart rate and post it on Instagram and its own photosharing tool. The app, which is not yet commercially available, is the first time biostatistical information is integrated seamlessly onto a multimedia platform for sharing.

"BioGram can bring biostatistical information to millions of people through an existing photo-sharing platform, and it creates data experiences that are aesthetic and emotional," said Dr. Leslie A. Saxon, the Executive Director of the USC Center for Body Computing and the co-inventor of the app, which was shown publicly for the first time today. Heart rate is recorded from AliveCor's Heart Monitor, which snaps onto the back of a mobile device to record, display, store and transfer single-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythms wirelessly. AliveCor opened its AliveCor Heart Rate API to the USC Center for Body Computing so the USC CBC-a digital health research and innovation center-could create the app.

Dr. Saxon said the app is a first step (she hopes to make it commercially available by the end of the year) in creating more health literacy. It can be ported to any sensor maker. "More and more devices have connected or wireless sensors that can record a person's biostatistical data, such as heart rate. These devices include mobile phones, tablets, implantables, and fitness monitors, as well as consumer products, including automobiles, scales, refrigerators, and others. We want to leverage this technology, and harness biostatistics, for fun-and for health. It's about sharing yourself. And becoming smarter about your health."

Currently, biostatistical data is generally confined to the sensor or the sensor software, and does not port to multimedia applications, such as social network sites. BioGram acquires and shares the biometrics. The app was co-invented and coded by engineers at the USC CBC.

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ALIVECOR UNVEILS VERSATILE MOBILE HEART MONITOR


Technology can now be used with iOS and Android Smartphones

LOS ANGELES, CA., October 4 --- AliveCor, Inc., announced today at the University of Southern California Body Computing Conference its new versatile Heart Monitor that easily attaches to any compatible smartphone or smartphone case.

This new universal design includes the proprietary AliveCor ultrasound technology that enables a clinical-quality ECG recording of the heart's activity, while minimizing battery drain. The compact design is easy to install and is transferable among various mobile devices. Just like the current Heart Monitor, it is clinically accurate, simple, and powerful.

"We have today extended the benefits of our mobile ECG technology to a new range of smartphones, significantly expanding customer access," said Euan Thomson, CEO and President of AliveCor. "The AliveCor Heart Monitor is small, versatile, uses very little battery power, and can be used any time in almost any location."

The FDA-cleared Heart Monitor attaches directly to the back of the mobile device or its case with the universal attachment plate. Current Android devices supported are the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, and HTC One. Apple devices supported are the iPhone® 4, 4S, and 5 and – new today - the iPod touch 5. For those that prefer the Heart Monitor as a case, AliveCor offers cases for the Galaxy S4 and for the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5.

"From its early days, I've studied and published peer-reviewed research on the AliveCor device," said Dr. Leslie Saxon, the Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, and the Executive Director of the USC Center for Body Computing, a digital health research and innovation center. "I think it is one of the more important technologies in recent years that enables large scale healthcare awareness and literacy."

The Heart Monitor is available for purchase in the United States to medical professionals and patients with prescriptions - please visit www.alivecor.com.