Anyway, here’s a video demonstrating this exciting app:

This, of course, could also have a tremendous impact on the holter monitor industry, telemetry monitoring, and perhaps even stress testing.

Here’s a link to the website: AliveCor

HolterMonitor.org has no relationship with AliveCor.

These sensors can be used for EEGs too – monitoring the brain – but instead of a vest, it’s a headband. Stylin’.

You can check out the article from Technology review here: Biosensors Comfortable Enough to Wear 24-7

Monitoring is one thing, but its the reporting of that monitoring and the display of the data that will be key to improving the care of the patient – how the clinician interprets the data, how frequent or infrequent alerts are, how clear artifact is from real, underlying arrhythmias, etc.

Billed as “first in the industry”, the AF TeleClinic will be followed by a series of disease-specific monitoring TeleClinics(TM) that LifeWatch is developing. Great idea, but an idea that many hospital systems and businesses have had simultaneously and are in various stages of developing.

(And judging by all of the “TM”s in most of the articles I read about telemedicine and telemonitoring, it looks like it’s going to be a trademark-fest. I first read about it in a Forbes press release.)

Kinds to choose from:

ECG biometric monitors also come in two kinds, ambulatory and interpretive. Ambulatory ECG monitors feature the Holter monitor, a small recorder that needs to be worn by the patient everyday. Using that, a graphic record of the heart’s electrical currents is made in order to detect abnormal activities that may be due to stress and emotional or sleep problems.

Two models of the ambulatory ECG monitor are available: intermittent and continuous. Intermittent models are worn for weeks or months although recording only happens once in a while, while continuous models, as the name suggests, continuously monitors heart activity for two days. Interpretive ECG monitors, on the other hand, use charts in interpreting heart activities. Usually featuring an operation with a 12-lead rhythm, it can run automatically or be manually operated. Interpretive ECG monitors also commonly use interpretation software like pediatric analysis and pacemaker enhancements.

How to choose

Look for an upgradeable model which allows for long-term use while at the same time giving room to address changes that may be required. That way, you won’t have to keep changing units just to keep up with your needs. For accurate displays and print outs, look for one that comes with an alphanumeric keyboard. An ECG machine that features a large LCD screen also makes things easier for you since results are easier to read out.

Important information

Complete information on biometric monitors is available at PickyGuide, the authority in free consumer advice. Access top-ranked, best-reviewed, and most competitively priced (product here) in PickyGuide’s recommended products section.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ilse_Hagen

First, let’s just get a glimpse of some of the Littmann Master Cardiology stethoscope features:

• Hear both high and low frequency sounds
• Single-sided, stainless steel chestpiece with tunable diaphragm
• Special procedures adaptor for difficult sites and for pediatric auscultation
• Nonchill rim and soft-sealing ear pieces

Now, here’s some of the stuff you won’t see in their advertising, but might read in reviews and testimonials:

• Looks sweet (especially the stealth/black one)… It’s the only stethoscope that I’ve owned where people have actually pulled it off of my neck to look at it and then asked me where I got it
• Although you should limit noise when you’re auscultating, we all know that that doesn’t always happen… especially in the ER, in trauma, and anywhere there are kids. Well, Littmann Master Cardiology does an awesome job of drowning out ambient noise.
• The warranty says 7 years, but the reality is that Littmann backs their products through-and-through. I once threw out my stethoscope from med school (over 13 years old) and someone pulled it out the trash, called Littmann and had them replace the parts that were in need of replacing… her only cost was the shipping to send it to them (I’m not saying they’ll do this for everyone, but hey, they’re worth buying from).
• Wherever you try to buy the Littmann Master Cardiology stethoscope, the price will seem high… but it’s worth it.

Here’s my cleverly disguised affiliate link:

Post a comment below if you have an opinion on the Littmann 3M Master Cardiology stethoscope.

by Eric Morris

ECG is an abbreviation for an electrocardiograph. An ECG records the heart’s electrical activity as a graph or a series of wavy lines on a moving strip of paper. It provides information on a patient’s heart rate and rhythm and blood flow. It is used to diagnose medical problems such as a heart attack or irregular heartbeats.

Heart rhythm problems or arrhythmias can be diagnosed using a variety of methods. The method depends upon the specific heart rhythm problem suspected by a physician. An electro physiology is done when the arrhythmia is identified as a fast heart rhythm problem called tachyarrhythmia.

There are different types of ECG tests that help record the heart’s rhythm of patients. The exercise ECG or stress test is a graphical recording of the heart’s rhythm during exertion. The exertion is created using a treadmill machine. This test helps to evaluate whether exercise can create an arrhythmia or make it worse. It also helps diagnose a condition involving insufficient flow of blood to the heart called ischemia.

An ECG rhythm is recorded for long and short periods of time. A Holter monitor is a 24-72 hour ECG. It is a device that measures and records the heart rhythm over 1-3 days. This test may be done when an ECG does not clearly show the arrhythmia, though it is suspected to be the underlying cause of the symptoms. In a ECG Rhythm test, patches with wires are placed on the patient’s chest. The wires are connected to a portable monitor that can be attached to a purse or belt.

An external loop recorder is a device that monitors the heart rhythm and rate for up to one month. During this test, the patient wears a device on the wrist or around the waist. When symptoms are experienced, the patient presses a button on the device to make a recording of the heart activity that just occurred.

An insertable loop recorder is a device that continuously monitors the heart rhythm for up to 14 months. This small device is placed under the skin during a twenty-minute procedure using a local anesthetic. When a symptom is experienced, the patient places a hand-held activator over the recorder. Later, a physician analyzes the stored information. ECG rhythms help diagnose problems that can be cured when detected. It is just one of many applications of an ECG that has a life saving impact.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Morris