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The FDA is fast-tracking an algorithm that screens for heart failure
Today, the FDA granted "breakthrough status" to an algorithm that could make screening for heart failure more accessible -- both in traditional clinics and telehealth settings. The algorithm uses a deep neural network developed by digital health company Eko and Mayo Clinic. With as little as 15 seconds of electrocardiogram (ECG) data, it can identify Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF), a measure that's commonly used to diagnose patients with heart failure.
AI can gauge the risk of dying from heart conditions
AI's ability to predict threats to your health could soon include deadly heart conditions. Researchers at MIT's CSAIL have developed a machine learning system, RiskCardio, that can estimate the risk of death due to cardiovascular issues that block or reduce blood flow. All it needs is a 15-minute ECG reading -- from there, it gauges the danger based on the sets of consecutive beats in the sample. If the data is captured within 15 minutes of an event, RiskCardio can determine whether or not someone will die within 30 days, or even up to a year later.
Withings's Move ECG is a stylish fitness watch with a killer price
Withings' latest watch has kept us hanging on for quite some time. Originally announced in January and meant to arrive in the Spring, the Withings Move ECG is ready to buy, starting today for $129.95 / €129.95 / £129.95. I've spent the last couple of days with one on my wrist, trying to fathom whether it was worth the wait.
ASUS’ new fitness watch is more useful and better looking
ASUS may not make smartwatches anymore, but it has kept one foot in the wearables space with its line of fitness watches. A year and a bit after launching the VivoWatch BP, the company is back with a new health-tracking watch that, most importantly, looks a whole lot better than its predecessor.
Facebook is inching closer to a think-to-type computer system
Elon Musk isn't the only one who wants us to communicate via brainwaves. Facebook also has ambitious plans to interface with computers using wearables and one day let us type rapidly with our brains. Now, neuroscientists from the University of California, San Francisco (backed by Facebook's Reality Labs) have demonstrated a system that can translate speech into text in real time using brain activity only. While impressive, it shows that the technology still has a long ways to go.
Apple releases iOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3 with Walkie Talkie bug fix
The releases of iOS 13, watchOS 6 and macOS Catalina are likely just a couple of months away, but that isn't stopping Apple from giving the current versions a big sendoff. The tech behemoth has released iOS 12.4, HomePod 12.4, tvOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3 and macOS 10.14.6, most of which bring important tweaks. The iOS update is most useful if you're setting up a new iPhone -- you can wireless transfer data directly from an old handset to a new one instead of restoring from iCloud or iTunes. Apple News has also seen some refinements, with downloaded issues showing up in My Magazines and all News+ publications appearing in the catalog at the top of the feed.
Apple Watch ECG is coming to Canada 'as quickly as possible'
Canucks won't have to sit on the sidelines while their Apple Watch-toting friends in the US, Europe and Hong Kong perform electrocardiograms. Apple has confirmed that it's bringing the Watch Series 4's ECG app and irregular heart rhythm detection to Canada "as quickly as possible" following an approval by Health Canada on May 16th. While the company hasn't narrowed down a time frame, the most likely candidates for a debut are either watchOS 5.3 (which entered beta testing in mid-May) or the expected watchOS 6 release in September.
FDA clears first personal ECG device to detect three heart arrhythmias
To date, personal ECG devices have only really detected one kind of heart arrhythmia: atrial fibrillation. While that's helpful, it doesn't cover other conditions that could be just as dangerous. You might not be left wondering for much longer. AliveCor's KardiaMobile has received the first FDA clearance allowing a personal device to detect two other relatively common conditions, bradycardia (where your heart rate dips to 40-50BPM) and tachycardia (a jump to 100-140BPM). While these conditions are sometimes innocuous and might not show symptoms, they can also be representative of issues like heart disease.
New Apple Watch OS arrives with ECG app for Europe and HK
Apple has started rolling out watchOS 5.2 to all users, but it's a bigger update for those in Hong Kong and 19 European countries than everyone else. The device's ECG app and irregular heartbeat detection features will come bundled with the update in HK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the UK and Switzerland.
The Owlet Band monitors your unborn baby while you sleep
Owlet is known for making connected baby monitors and teeny tiny smart socks (yes, really), but its latest innovation is built to use before baby is actually born. The Owlet Band is a soft, thin circle of fabric that wraps around an expectant mother's abdomen and lower back, and it has a small plastic sensor front-and-center. Using passive ECG technology, the Band is able to read and record the baby's heart rate, count its kicks, identify contractions and track the mother's sleeping position. Essentially, it's a sleepy-time peace-of-mind machine for anxious parents-to-be.
Apple Watch 4's ECG feature is rolling out today
The Apple Watch 4 stole the show at the Apple event in September, in large part due to its built-in electrocardiogram (ECG). The smartwatch was touted as the first consumer device to pack the function -- which goes one further from detecting a low heart rate to sense a dangerous condition known as an atrial fibrillation. Fast forward almost three months, and The Verge reports that the feature is available today courtesy of the latest watchOS update (5.1.2.), along with an irregular rate notification feature for Apple Watches going back to Series 1.
Apple reportedly extends Watch return period for heart feature issues
Apple is reportedly extending its Apple Watch refund window from two weeks to 45 days -- but only for returns related to heart health features, including the upcoming electrocardiogram app on Apple Watch Series 4. You'll have to make such refund requests through Apple Support rather than in Apple Stores after the usual 14 days, according to an internal document MacRumors obtained.
The next watchOS update will reportedly include the ECG app
One of the main features Apple announced for Apple Watch Series 4 was an electrocardiogram app, which could help you detect an irregular heart rhythm. While it wasn't included with the Watch Series 4 at release, nor in last month's watchOS update, it appears the app will arrive soon.
Apple releases iOS 12.1, watchOS 5.1 with Group FaceTime (updated)
Apple has released a smorgasbord of updates, and iOS 12.1 is just the start of them. Notably, you can now upgrade to watchOS 5.1 on Apple Watch Series 4 devices. It doesn't include the wearable's marquee ECG feature, unfortunately, but there are new solid-color watch faces and compatibility for features arriving on iOS and Mac, including Group FaceTime (audio only on the Apple Watch, of course) and more than 70 new emoji.
AI identifies 'invisible' heart condition LQTS
AI is playing an increasing role in medical care, from spotting diabetes and examining medical scans, to taking the place of doctors altogether. Now, it's able to recognize life-threatening conditions where traditional diagnostic tools can't. AliveCor, the company behind KardiaBand, has harnessed machine learning to identify patients with Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), a condition that frequently goes undetected.
Your next Apple Watch band could warn you of a stroke
Sure, you've been rocking that metal link band for your Apple Watch since you got it, and it's fine for fashion and all, but what about its function? There's no way it could measure your heart's electrical activity. That's where the AliveCor's medical-grade Kardia band fits in. AliveCor claims the band is the first of its kind and, considering the company's heritage, the strap seems like a natural progression from its electrocardiogram phone cases.
HealthPatch MD alerts your doctor about heart problems in real time
What's more important than your health? Not much, we think you'll agree. The team behind HealthPatch MD certainly knows our well-being is top of most of our lists -- so it made the aforementioned product to help monitor it. HealthPatch isn't a fitness-tracking wristband or a home health accessory; it's aimed at hospitals, doctors and medical services. What is it? It's a small patch with a module that monitors heart activity (ECG), heart rate (and variability), respiratory rate, skin temperature, activity posture and even fall detection. What makes it interesting is that it's also a connected device, so you no longer need to go to a medical facility to be monitored. You can just go about your normal life.
AliveCor ECG comes to Android, transmits your palpitations to Instagram
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.
Nymi bracelet uses biometric heart data to unlock digital and physical doors (video)
Unlike faces and fingerprints, a heart's electrical activity is difficult to fake -- it's a unique and potentially ideal security tool. Bionym is taking advantage of this trustworthiness in its upcoming Nymi bracelet. The wristwear authenticates users through a combination of electrocardiograms and Bluetooth proximity detection; if Nymi recognizes your heart rhythm, it automatically logs you into nearby devices. The bracelet also recognizes gesture commands, and a future developer kit should extend the gadget's usefulness beyond basic security for PCs and smartphones. It could unlock doors or make retail payments, for example. Nymi won't ship until early 2014, but it's already available for pre-order at a $79 early bird price.
AliveCor iPhone app and case promise a portable ECG
It's not available for purchase yet, but AliveCor's iPhone case and app could make a trip to a cardiac specialist for an ECG a thing of the past. The case, which is currently designed for the iPhone 4/4S, is a portable electrocardiogram (ECG). An ECG measures the electrical activity of the heart, usually with a trained cardiologist making the call on finding abnormalities that could be the sign of heart disease. The AliveCor case contains two sensors that are placed on the patients chest, after which the device takes a 30-second reading and uploads the acquired data to secure cloud storage. Once the information is available, a medical professional can access and analyze it. Since people at risk of cardiac disease could essentially self-administer an ECG at any time, AliveCor's product could provide an inexpensive way to do initial screenings and monitoring of heart conditions. Remote monitoring could be done with the device in the future, alerting a patient to take another reading or visit a doctor automatically. At this time, the AliveCor ECG is only available in a US$199 version intended for use on dogs by veterinarians. It has, though, been useful to at least one person -- Scripps cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol used a sample for-human device to examine a passenger who was complaining of chest pain on a flight. The device showed that the passenger was having a heart attack, and the plane made an unscheduled landing so that the person could receive emergency treatment. [via Wired]
