iPhone app helps diagnose cardiac arrhythmias

iRhythm Technologies has launched its myZIO app, which promises to help doctors diagnose heart conditions with more accuracy and less disruption to patients' lives.

Interest has been growing in the combined use of wearable devices and apps for remote and continuous monitoring of heart patterns, looking for conditions such as atrial fibrillation and abnormally slow or fast heart rates.

iRhythm's ZIO system is based on the use of a waterproof, wireless patch device - worn on the chest for up to for 14 days - that can monitor and digitally record any irregular heartbeat symptoms.

Now, the launch of the iOS app as a digital companion to the patch means that - in addition to the data delivered to the physician - patients themselves can log heart symptoms and other information. 

Patients can currently report symptoms associated with arrhythmia by pressing a button on the patch, but adding in the smartphone app provides "a more complete picture of the patient's health", according to the company. 

Moreover, the app is designed to be a two-way communication channel, and will also allow patients to access educational information, reminders and assistance with using the patch. 

That ties in with the company's previously-stated intention of becoming more than a device-selling company - with a business model based on the delivery of high-quality information to both clinicians and patients.

iRhythm's patch system is already starting to make headway as a diagnostic tool in cardiology as it is much more convenient than Holter monitoring, the technology it is starting to replace, and to date has been used in around 400,000 people. 

A Holter system has a battery life of up to 48 hours - which may not be long enough for a diagnosis - and patients have to refrain from bathing or exercise while using it.

Meanwhile, aside from being less burdensome to use, iRhythm's system also seems to be more effective - in studies it was found to detect 57% more arrhythmias than Holter monitoring, giving a diagnosis in around 90% of cases. 

"Each year, millions of patients see physicians because they feel symptoms that may be caused by an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia," said iRhythm in a statement.

"The iRhythm ZIO Service allows physicians to diagnose arrhythmias more definitively than via previously available diagnostic technologies."

Digital inspiration for pharma on mobile, social media, strategy, best practice, regulations and more