MONTREAL, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- After three years of intensive research and in collaboration with a cardiologist and heart surgeon, Medical Intelligence, a Quebec firm specializing in human tele-security, today unveiled the first wireless portable automatic cardiac alert system. The VPS (Vital Positioning System(TM)), is a device that automatically detects when a heart attack is occurring outside the hospital environment and alerts emergency services to the condition and location of the afflicted.
“The invention, which is ready for manufacture and marketing, is connected to a cell phone or pocket computer containing a Global Positioning System (GPS) and an assortment of self-learning artificial intelligence software that detects the advance signs of a cardiovascular incident and calls for an ambulance before the attack develops,” said Louis Massicotte, the president and founder of Medical Intelligence.
The portable cardiac alert system, hooked up by GPS, instantly alerts the 911 service - the patient is not required to do anything - after it automatically detects a major cardiac incident in the making or that has already occurred. The GPS is used to track the exact location of the victim in record time.
“We’ve already started approaching the cellular phone and alarm system industries in order to quickly designate Canadian distributors, said Mr. Massicotte. “Then, we’ll look at going into other markets in the hopes of making our new technology available worldwide, as quickly as we possibly can.”
Cardiologist Sylvain Plante and heart surgeon Richard Bauset, formerly of Laval Hospital (Institut de Cardiologie de Quebec) and recently named to head up a new cardiac intervention program at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario, collaborated with Medical Intelligence’s research team throughout the VPS development process.
“We drew up a protocol that consisted of simulating a heart attack and all of the electrocardiographic changes that occur prior to and during an infarctus,” said Dr. Plante. “As an interventional cardiologist, I’m faced with these situations every day. An infarctus usually occurs when there is a rupture of atherosclerotic plaque that completely obstructs the blood flow in the affected artery. This triggers specific electrocardiographic changes that are a few minutes ahead of symptoms or signs of trouble in heart-rate variability that cause death. This is precisely what the Medical Intelligence system enables us to detect. The detection potential during this critical phase is, to us, a major innovation.”
Mr. Massicotte, the co-inventor of the portable cardiac alert system, added: “We are exceedingly proud to finally be able to announce this news to all those who are stricken by cardiovascular disease and to their families who live in constant fear of what might happen. With about 70 million people in America being victims of heart disease, this is the cause of one in every four deaths, and every minute counts during an emergency intervention. Our invention is designed to reduce this delay to a bare minimum with technologies that are easy to use and are accessible, cost-wise, to all.”
“For decades, everyone who, in one way or another, is involved in the cause of cardiovascular disease, has been working to solve the fundamental problem of the missing links in the process, gaps that mean cardiovascular problems are still the cause of about 40% of the deaths,” said heart surgeon Dr. Richard Bauset. “One of these missing links where we think we may be able to intervene is in the intervention time, in other words the speed with which an alert is put out. We know that some 15% of heart attacks lead to sudden death and the majority of heart patients show advance signs in the moments preceding the attack.
“Medical Intelligence and its Vital Positioning System(TM) have demonstrated great creativity in combining the technologies of telecommunications, artificial intelligence and data from the medical field,” he added. “We are pleased to see that people stricken by cardiovascular disease will now be better equipped, with the VPS, to cope with emergencies in a world where staff reductions in the hospital sector have left a number of people feeling insecure. This Quebec invention is undoubtedly a major stride for heart patients and their families.”
The prototype of the Medical Intelligence portable cardiac alert system will be on display, at the FORUM EXPORT, a November 12-13 show at Montreal’s Palais des Congres. The impact of this new technological device and the history of its development will also be the subject at the event’s opening conference. The conference address, entitled “Human tele-security: a future market for the cellular phone and alarm system industry” will be delivered at 1 p.m., today, Wednesday, November 12, by Mr. Massicotte, the president and founder of Medical intelligence, who will be accompanied by Doctors Bauset and Plante.
MEDICAL INTELLIGENCE
CONTACT: Diane Jeannotte or Johanne Lepine, Torchia Communications,(514) 288-8290, ext. 207 & 234; Source: Louis Massicotte, MedicalIntelligence, (418) 527-3869, http://www.medicalintelligence.ca/