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| Third-generation AliveCor heart monitor--Courtesy of AliveCor |
Monitoring electrocardiograms tracking heart conditions at home may become as cheap, easy and routine as using an electronic thermometer. AliveCor has reduced the price on its ECG monitor to $74.99 from $199; it's also now a third-generation device that is 50% thinner and 40% lighter.
The FDA cleared the wireless AliveCor ECG to detect atrial fibrillation (AF) earlier this year. It snaps onto the back of a smartphone to take single-lead recordings of heart rhythms. Through a free corresponding app, the ECG data can be recorded, stored and uploaded to be accessed by a physician.
For patients, it allows fast, simple monitoring at any time when a patient experiences an AF episode. People with AF are 5 times more likely to experience a stroke than those without the condition. AliveCor said its heart monitor is recording 130,000 ECGs monthly and actively tracking more than 10,000 symptoms, medications and activities relating to patients' conditions.
AliveCor said that its latest FDA-cleared algorithm detected more than 20,000 AF incidents in more than 30% of users recording ECGs. It noted that users of its heart monitor are likely to continue use; about 70% of them are still using the device regularly after 6 months, according to the company.
"The AliveCor Heart Monitor leads to results that I can use to manage my patients remotely, a trend that is here to stay," Dr. Jeffrey Olgin, chief of the cardiology division and co-director of the Heart and Vascular Center at the University of California at San Francisco, said in a statement. "Seeing my patients' ECG results in real-time is the next best thing to having them in my office when the event takes place. I'm pleased to see that AliveCor is lowering the price so more of my patients can afford it."
The latest iteration of the device comes out of customer feedback in combination with a redesign by design firm IDEO. Earlier this month, AliveCor partnered with Japanese medical device company Omron as part of its retail push for its heart monitor.
In clinical testing, the AliveCor Heart Monitor provided accuracy that was comparable to readings from Lead 1 of standard ECG machines. The AliveECG App has shown 97% sensitivity and 98% specificity in a retrospective analysis of clinical data.
The latest iteration of the device will start to ship on Jan. 5; it will be available through outlets, including Amazon and Omron.
- here is the release
Special Report: FierceMedicalDevices' 2014 Fierce 15 - AliveCor