Considering that one of the big trends in healthcare is keeping people out of the hospital by making greater use of remote monitoring cardiac patients and other patient populations. There’s also been a decent amount of attention around the issue of improving access to defibrillators in public places. So we’ve got iHealth’s wearable ECG monitor, which itlaunched at CES in Las Vegas, earlier this year and Zoll Medical’s portable defibrillator in the form of a life vest vying for contention in the wearables Final Four.
The device by Zoll, which was acquired by Asahi Kasei in 2012, might be the oldest wearable we have in contention as the FDA cleared the device in 2001.
I really like the disruptive approach taken by Zoll Medical. It responds to the defibrillator issue by saying,”Hey, what if we just prescribe them to people most likely to need them?” Of course that response is not without some problems, particularly when it comes to users following directions on how to operate them. The patients who would be prescribed this device tend be waiting for a heart transplant, recently suffered a myocardial infarction or recently had a procedure such as cardiac bypass surgery or coronary angioplasty.
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Here’s how it works. The vest includes electrodes and a small monitor that can be worn at the waist or hung from a strap. The sensing electrodes monitor the user’s heart. When a life-threatening rhythm is detected, the device alerts the patient before delivering a jolt of electricity. If the owner is conscious, he or she can either abort the shock to the heart by touching a button. Otherwise, a gel is released over larger therapy electrodes at the back that send a jolt to the heart to restore its normal rhythm.
The Pittsburgh company’s device is reimbursed by most insurance companies, according to its website.Since it’s been available it’s been used by 100,000 people, according to its website. Interestingly, as Heartwire points out, Zoll is continuing to develop new indications for the life vest
iHealth’s ECG is part of a group of wearable and wireless sensors it developed to track cardiovascular conditions continuously. The device can be worn on the skin under clothing and is designed to detect arrhythmias or irregular heart rate . It transmits data to an iOS device with Bluetooth and can store 72 hours of data. The device automatically pushes data to the cloud, allowing for easy access by health care professionals. It has a sleek design and has what seems like an easy way to transfer data. It doesn’t yet have FDA clearance.
Winner: Zoll Medical
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Why? It might say more about the complexities of using a personal defibrillator that there are not more of them. But Zoll’s approach and it’s work to develop additional applications for the device offers an interesting example of a company that’s developed an innovative approach to the issue of defibrillator access.
