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| AliveCor's AliveECG--Courtesy of AliveCor |
AliveCor, the maker of the first FDA-approved smartphone-based device to detect atrial fibrillation, is partnering with Apollo Hospitals to provide the monitor to patients throughout India.
The collaboration is part of an effort to improve arrhythmia screening and prevent strokes, the two companies said in a press release. AliveCor's heart monitor--dubbed AliveECG--is compatible with iOS and Android mobile devices and can record, display, store and transfer heart rate and single-channel electrocardiograms (ECG).
The collaboration also helps AliveCor fulfill its mission of collecting as many ECGs as it can for data-gathering purposes in order to learn more about the condition. "What are the triggers that cause the heart to go from normal beating to atrial fibrillation? For that we need lots and lots of people to be sharing their data with us. Not just the afib, but other lifestyle parameters," said AliveCor CEO Euan Thomson in a previous interview with FierceMedicalDevices.
Globally, millions of people are affected by arrhythmias that, if undetected, can lead to stroke and even death. One in four adults over age 40 is at risk of developing atrial fibrillation, the companies said. It is the most common heart rhythm disturbance, and makes a person with an arrhythmia 5 times more likely to have a stroke.
"It's extremely important for us to provide access to medical devices that are both clinically proven and cost-effective to help our patients manage their cardiac health," Prathap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospitals, said in a statement.
AliveCor's device is a mobile ECG that snaps onto the back of a smartphone, taking wireless single-lead recordings of heart rhythms, saving readings on the phone and uploading data to a cloud-based server accessible to patients and doctors. The device is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and Android-based devices.
Last month, the company received FDA clearance for the detection of a serious heart condition via a mobile ECG. It was the first such approval by the regulatory agency.
- read the press release