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AliveCor Announces Apple Watch 'Kardia Band' for Medical Grade EKG Analysis

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Medical smartphone accessory company AliveCor today announced that it will bring "the first medical-grade EKG band" to the Apple Watch with the "Kardia Band," in addition to a new smartphone app for users of its heart-rate reading devices. The company already sells a few "mobile EKG" products in its online store, including cases for the iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 5/5s that have users place their fingers on metallic plates to get sufficient heart-rate readings.

Kardia-Band-apple-watch-800x450.jpg

The Kardia Band for Apple Watch will function in a similar way, with a small, integrated metal sensor in the band communicating with the company's new app to take wrist-worn EKG readings. All users will have to do is navigate to the Apple Watch-compatible Kardia app, start a reading, place their thumb on the sensor, and wait for the 30-second analysis to complete. During this time, users can also speak into the Apple Watch's microphone to detail any palpitations, shortness of breath, or dietary habits that could be linked to heart-rate fluctuations.
Users can record a single-lead EKG by simply touching Kardia Band's integrated sensor that communicates with the Watch app, Kardia by AliveCor(TM). The Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Detector then uses Kardia's automated analysis process (algorithm) to instantly detect the presence of AF in an EKG, the most common cardiac arrhythmia and a leading cause of stroke.

Also included is the Normal Detector, which indicates whether your heart rate and rhythm are normal, and the Unreadable Detector, which tells you when to retake an EKG so physicians receive only the highest quality recordings.
Click to expand...
The collected recordings are stored and can be viewed in the iPhone version of the Kardia app, and even sent to a patient's preferred doctor if any suspicious activity is gathered during a reading. AliveCor said that the app can also connect to Apple's stock Health app, so users can integrate their EKG readings into established fitness data like step count and calorie intake to further bolster an overall assessment of their well-being.


The Kardia Band is currently undergoing clearance approval by the Food and Drug Administration, and can't be sold until it does so, but AliveCor believes the device will be available to purchase as soon as "late spring." The updated Kardia by AliveCor app [Direct Link] can be downloaded today, however, and works with the company's re-branded Kardia Mobile device as well as the line of iPhone cases.

AliveCor encourages those interested to sign up on its website to be the first to know when the Kardia Band will be for sale and at what price.

Article Link: AliveCor Announces Apple Watch 'Kardia Band' for Medical Grade EKG Analysis
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/03/16/alivecor-apple-watch-kardia-band/
Anyone know how it communicates with the Watch/iPhone? Bluetooth or wired via the watch strap? Do you have to charge the strap?
 
Here they go! The hardware magic of the Apple Watch will be in the band, the software magic will be in the watch.
 
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from their website:
  • 3V CR2016 coin cell battery (included)
  • 200 hours operational time
  • 12 months typical use
so it doesn't derives power from the diagnostic port.

when will we have bands / built-in AW sensors that can take reliable EKGs straight from the wrist ?

I want to see continuous or very short interval EKG readings backed with analysis algorithms that provide insight and alerts on long-term and short-term heart health and conditions. When this happens, smartwatches will save lives. Proactively.
 
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That's not an Apple Watch band. That is a regular band with cheap Chinese adapter lugs.
 
It's too bad approval from the FDA takes so long because we'll never have these great medical features built right into the watch.

“We don’t want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration process,” Cook told The Telegraph. “I wouldn’t mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long. But you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it – maybe an app, maybe something else.”
Click to expand...
 
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yaxomoxay said:
I believe they're the same.
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Being German I was confused. Wiki explains why:

The version with -K-, which is rarer in British English than in American English, is an early-20th-century loanword from the German acronym EKG for Elektrokardiogramm (electrocardiogram),[34] which reflects that German physicians were pioneers in the field at the time. Today AMA style and, under its stylistic influence, most American medical publications use ECG instead of EKG.[35] The German term Elektrokardiogramm as well as the English equivalent electrocardiogram consist of the New Latin/international scientific vocabulary elements elektro- (cognate electro-) and kardi- (cognate cardi-), the latter from Greek kardia (heart).[36]​
 
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This can't possibly be accurate. My dad had a medical emergency last week. The EMTs started out with a four-lead ECG. They then switched to a 12-lead. The pads were dispersed all over his torso. The electrical signals travel from right to left across the heart. How could a wrist monitor (which might be on either wrist) perform the same function?
 
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yaxomoxay said:
Seriously speaking, I never really desired an Apple Watch; I would gladly buy it if I had enough $$$ leftover (which I don't), but I would not consider it an investment. This product might seriously convince me to buy an Apple Watch.
Click to expand...

IDK. I applaud this company's innovation, but I would prefer that functionality like this be built into the watch. I guess that's kind of what I am expecting the watch itself to evolve into.
 
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MacRumors said:



Medical smartphone accessory company AliveCor today announced that it will bring "the first medical-grade EKG band" to the Apple Watch with the "Kardia Band," in addition to a new smartphone app for users of its heart-rate reading devices. The company already sells a few "mobile EKG" products in its online store, including cases for the iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 5/5s that have users place their fingers on metallic plates to get sufficient heart-rate readings.

Kardia-Band-apple-watch-800x450.jpg

The Kardia Band for Apple Watch will function in a similar way, with a small, integrated metal sensor in the band communicating with the company's new app to take wrist-worn EKG readings. All users will have to do is navigate to the Apple Watch-compatible Kardia app, start a reading, place their thumb on the sensor, and wait for the 30-second analysis to complete. During this time, users can also speak into the Apple Watch's microphone to detail any palpitations, shortness of breath, or dietary habits that could be linked to heart-rate fluctuations.
The collected recordings are stored and can be viewed in the iPhone version of the Kardia app, and even sent to a patient's preferred doctor if any suspicious activity is gathered during a reading. AliveCor said that the app can also connect to Apple's stock Health app, so users can integrate their EKG readings into established fitness data like step count and calorie intake to further bolster an overall assessment of their well-being.


The Kardia Band is currently undergoing clearance approval by the Food and Drug Administration, and can't be sold until it does so, but AliveCor believes the device will be available to purchase as soon as "late spring." The updated Kardia by AliveCor app [Direct Link] can be downloaded today, however, and works with the company's re-branded Kardia Mobile device as well as the line of iPhone cases.

AliveCor encourages those interested to sign up on its website to be the first to know when the Kardia Band will be for sale and at what price.

Article Link: AliveCor Announces Apple Watch 'Kardia Band' for Medical Grade EKG Analysis
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1458140844][/doublepost]Mixed reviews are given to the already available iPhone plate/case. Particularly regarding reliability and durability. On their website is $99 fr the plate only $114 for the case/plate combo.
[doublepost=1458140919][/doublepost]
RogueWarrior65 said:
This can't possibly be accurate. My dad had a medical emergency last week. The EMTs started out with a four-lead ECG. They then switched to a 12-lead. The pads were dispersed all over his torso. The electrical signals travel from right to left across the heart. How could a wrist monitor (which might be on either wrist) perform the same function?
Click to expand...

This device provides a single lead reading. This is not an emergency life saving device. For that use the iPhone to call 911.
 
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rdlink said:
IDK. I applaud this company's innovation, but I would prefer that functionality like this be built into the watch. I guess that's kind of what I am expecting the watch itself to evolve into.
Click to expand...

I think that we'll slowly get there.
[doublepost=1458141108][/doublepost]
RogueWarrior65 said:
This can't possibly be accurate. My dad had a medical emergency last week. The EMTs started out with a four-lead ECG. They then switched to a 12-lead. The pads were dispersed all over his torso. The electrical signals travel from right to left across the heart. How could a wrist monitor (which might be on either wrist) perform the same function?
Click to expand...

I hope that your dad is fine.
I don't think that the device's goal is total accuracy at this moment. I see it mainly as an extra available tool for doctors and patients to monitor some activity at different times of the day when no other tool is readily available, all without being too intrusive into the patient's regular activities. In other words, it's to collect meaningful data, not to replace your doctor or better tools.
 
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RogueWarrior65 said:
This can't possibly be accurate. My dad had a medical emergency last week. The EMTs started out with a four-lead ECG. They then switched to a 12-lead. The pads were dispersed all over his torso. The electrical signals travel from right to left across the heart. How could a wrist monitor (which might be on either wrist) perform the same function?
Click to expand...

It's probably accurate, just not as accurate as a medical grade EKG. If they're seeking FDA approval for it, they at least feel comfortable with its accuracy. No one would go through all the effort with that if they weren't at least in the ballpark.

It's not to replace official tests but could show if there might be a problem that should get checked out further.
 
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apophazz said:
That's not an Apple Watch band. That is a regular band with cheap Chinese adapter lugs.
Click to expand...

Apple does sell bulk connectors for the Apple Watch to band manufacturers. If, when released, it has a Made For Apple Watch seal on it, they are using legit connectors. So its far too early to be claiming cheap materials.
 
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RogueWarrior65 said:
This can't possibly be accurate. My dad had a medical emergency last week. The EMTs started out with a four-lead ECG. They then switched to a 12-lead. The pads were dispersed all over his torso. The electrical signals travel from right to left across the heart. How could a wrist monitor (which might be on either wrist) perform the same function?
Click to expand...

It can't, and it doesn't need to.

When was the last time you had a blood panel done? (CBC with auto diff.) A whole bunch of things are reported, but your doctor usually doesn't care - she's looking for white blood count, red blood count, and hemoglobin. That's where something wrong will show - the rest of the readings are helpful only in determining exactly what is wrong. If the first three readings are within range, the rest don't really matter.

Same thing with an ECG. A full-bore ECG shows that I have a slightly elongated Q-wave and a right bundle branch block. Neither of them matter on a day to day basis, it's just something to note on my annual physical. The big picture items that should cause you to head for the nearest hospital are much simpler.

However, I also have a history of atrial fibrillation, and have required electrocardioversion twice. Paroxysmal a-fib can pop up without warning and many people, myself include, are blissfully unaware when it does. The danger isn't that my heart will stop, it's that the arrhythmia can cause blood clot formation, which can then cause stroke. The quicker I'm aware that my heart isn't in sinus rhythm, the easier it is to correct (the Valsalva maneuver). I don't need a complete multi-lead ECG to detect it, this will do quite nicely.
 
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