Emory Launches Remote Patient Monitoring Study for Coronary Care
Atlanta-based Emory University will be using an mHealth wearable in a telehealth platform aimed at studying how people living with coronary artery disease can manage their care at home.
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By - Emory University is launching a remote patient monitoring study to determine whether an mHealth wearable can help improve care management for people with coronary artery disease – and help care providers spot signs of depression.
The Atlanta university and health system will be using a wearable ECG patch developed by California-based VivaLNK for the telehealth project, which aims to continuously monitor patients for 72-hour stretches in a clinical setting and outside the hospital.
"VivaLNK’s ECG patch is very small and comfortable to wear, which are important factors for clinical use and long-term ECG monitoring,” Amit Shah, MD, an assistant professor of Epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, said in a press release. "In addition, the software development kit makes it easy to use the patch for research and product development purposes.”
The rechargeable mHealth patch, weighing about 7.5 grams and the size of a small bandage, features an electrocardiography sensor and accelerometer to capture and generate physiological data, including ECG trace, heart rate, RR-interval and 3-axis motion.
Shah and his colleagues will be monitoring patients undergoing coronary angiography, in order to measure autonomic function. The project builds upon earlier research into the connection between lower heart rate variability (HRV) with subclinical myocardial ischemia.
Faced with the need to improve care management and coordination outside the hospital or doctor’s office slowly developing interest by the payer industry to reimburse for some of these services, healthcare providers are launching and perfecting RPM programs to gather data and deliver targeted care at home.
Along with wearable patches and even clothing that can synch with smartphones to deliver real-time date back to care providers, they’re using telemedicine platforms that include wireless devices and smart devices within the home. Such platforms are proving beneficial not only to patients dealing with chronic conditions, but seniors and others requiring assisted living services.
