Abbott has launched a cardiac monitor in the US that communicates with a patient’s smartphone using Bluetooth wireless technology.
The Confirm RX sits under the patient’s skin and connects to the myMerlin app, which can then be accessed by physicians to identify and diagnose cardiac arrhythmias.
Its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and subsequent launch is a big win for the Chicago healthcare group, as the device is the first and only smartphone compatible ICM in the US.
Avi Fischer, divisional vice president and medical director, cardiac rhythm management business, Abbott, said: “Confirm RX shows what we can do with cutting edge communication technology and the most advanced medical devices that provide new opportunities to improve patient care.
“By offering a device that uses Bluetooth wireless technology from the patient’s smartphone, we can help physicians easily and remotely diagnosed potentially dangerous abnormal heart beats without requiring the patient to use a separate or cumbersome recording device.”
Arrhythmia can develop when a disease or injury disrupts the heart’s electrical signals causing the heart to beat erratically, which can change a patient’s blood flow and cause palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath of fainting.