A watch-sized device worn on the wrist successfully detected loss of pulse in an early-stage trial, a key step in developing a practical, noninvasive way to monitor patients at risk for sudden cardiac death, researchers said. In most patients participating in the phase I trial, the investigational device correctly signaled artificially induced pulselessness, though it had a false-positive rate of about 10%, according to John Rickard, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues online in Heart Rhythm.
