PITTSBURGH, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- BodyMedia, Inc., a leading developer and provider of body monitoring applications for clinical and consumer healthcare markets, announced today that it has developed a new patent-pending technology that can accurately monitor electrical activity of the heart (ECG) from the upper arm, continuously for extended periods of time.
This latest BodyMedia innovation, presented on Friday, October 29th at the New Arrhythmia Technologies Retreat in Chicago, Il., can record ECG data from the upper arm, as well as other locations on the human body previously considered impractical by conventional standards, without wires, adhesives, or other equipment. The Company has integrated the technology into prototype versions of BodyMedia’s SenseWear Armband, a wearable body monitor already being sold in the clinical weight loss and fitness markets. Their invention is particularly noteworthy because it challenges conventional wisdom in electrocardiology that ECG can only be observed using electrodes spaced at considerable distance from each other and that at least two electrodes must be closer to the heart than to each other.
The development of an unobtrusive and comfortable ECG monitor -- that any individual can slide on their body as easily as they would a watch -- has the potential to open up exciting new opportunities in healthcare.
“Long-term care and continuous monitoring outside of the hospital of various conditions sensitive to the heart’s changing rhythms, such as cardiovascular disease, sleep disorders, mental health, rehabilitation, home care, and distress due to extreme conditions, is now a real and affordable possibility,” said Dr. Astro Teller, BodyMedia’s Chief Executive Officer. “This latest BodyMedia development demonstrates again that our company has the technology base and innovation process to rewrite the rules for how people can better manage health and wellness.”
The prototype system has been in testing at the Stanford University Medical Center Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Service under supervision from Dr. Amin Al-Ahmad and its Director, Dr. Paul Wang, also Retreat program director. The first round of positive results from this testing, in which the device performed well when compared to a holter monitor in both short lab tests and long free-living tests, was presented on Friday, October 29th at the New Arrhythmia Technologies Retreat in Chicago, Illinois. In addition, Retreat faculty section chair Dr. N.A. Mark Estes III, Director of the New England Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at Tufts-New England Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, introduced the BodyMedia platform and the broad potential of this new technology in his talk entitled New Developments in Noninvasive Rhythm, Functional Status, and Hemodynamic Monitoring and Mapping.
“The preliminary results we presented at the conference suggest that this technology does an excellent job of sacrificing a small amount of signal quality in exchange for a giant leap forward in user-applicability and long term wearability,” said Dr. Amin Al-Ahmad, the study leader. “These gathered heart rhythms, with the addition of the metabolic and contextual information this same device already collects, in a form factor that could deliver wearing compliance over months or even years, may open up several exciting new methods of clinical diagnosis, treatment, and management.”
About BodyMedia
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, BodyMedia is one of the world’s leaders in consumer body monitoring products and technologies. The company develops accurate and convenient ways to keep track of the health and healthy behaviors of people outside of a clinical setting and in the context of their everyday lives. BodyMedia’s weight management and research applications are a proven, innovative and affordable means for monitoring physiological and lifestyle information such as energy expenditure, caloric intake, sleep, and adherence to clinical and fitness programs.
For more information visit http://www.bodymedia.com/ .
BodyMedia, Inc.
CONTACT: Jeff Swoveland, CFO of BodyMedia, Inc., +1-412-288-9901,ext. 1213, or jeff@bodymedia.com
Web site: http://www.bodymedia.com/
