Clinical implementation of a Smartphone based method for diagnosis of heart rhythm disorders

Important results from the project

The project aimed to clinically validate a method to record the heart rhythm remotely using a smartphone and its camera instead of traditional ECG. Patients who were scheduled for cardioversion of the heart rhythm have started their recording of the heart rhythm a few weeks before the treatment. Adherence to the recording of the heart rhythm was very good and 26% of the participants were identified with spontaneous conversion of the heart rhythm before the cardioversion and could thus be rescheduled for the benefit of patients on the waiting list for treatment.

Expected long term effects

During the project, 57 patients have been included in a randomized study where participants were randomly assigned to active or passive heart rhythm monitoring 2-4 weeks before cardioversion for atrial fibrillation. Participants recorded their heart rhythm for one minute twice daily using the camera on a smartphone provided by the project. Of the 57 participants, 68% were men and the average age was 72 years. A total of 15 (26%)participants with spontaneous conversion to normal heart rhythm were identified, of which 9 were in the group with active monitoring and these were cancelled.

Approach and implementation

Even in a group of patients with an average age of 70 years, the habit of using smartphones for health-related examinations is high. Our results show that 91% of the patients in the current patient group themselves use smartphones, which means that the method can be introduced to the vast majority without providing special equipment. This, in combination with the high adherence to heart rhythm recordings, shows that the method is ripe for introduction into clinical practice.