ECG-Equipped Smartphone Could Save Lives, Minimize Hospital Visits

A new smartphone lets you do a lot more than just check your e-mail. The H'andy Sana 210 contains hi-tech sensors that measure cardiovascular health and report data directly to doctors.

Although the latest smartphones might help you get in shape or cut your carbon footprint, a new German smartphone is equipped with technology to monitor a patient's heart and send information directly to doctors, thereby decreasing cardiovascular risks and reducing health care costs.

Heart disease is currently the leading cause of death in the United States, and is to blame for more than 30 percent of deaths worldwide. Patients must carefully monitor their heart health with frequent trips to the doctor. The most important test for people suffering from cardiovascular disease is the electrocardiogram (ECG), a diagnostic tool that measures the electrical activity of the heart. Unfortunately for most patients, ECGs are expensive and, since they are taken sporadically, provide only a small snapshot of cardiovascular health.

The new smartphone, called H'andy Sana 201, contains a rapid ECG tool that measures and records heart activity. The phone text messages data directly to patients' doctors, who can quickly respond to any concerns.

The smartphone measures and records the heart's electrical impulses using three sensors beneath its steel frame (source: John B. Carnett).

Just like a hospital's ECG test, the H'andy Sana 201 measures the electric pulses sent through the body by the heart. To use, a patient presses his/her fingertips to the phone's steel frame, which contains three sensors. The phone has calibration barriers to prevent the sensors from picking up movements from the arms and shoulders. It's also designed to ignore frequencies above the heart's estimated 150 hertz. The phone's processor uses algorithms to extract the heart's rhythm, which the patient can then transmit directly to the doctor.

Although the phone is not as accurate as a traditional ECG test, it provides enough data for doctors to monitor high-risk patients.

"The typical profile of a patient using the H'andy Sana is above the age of 45 years," the H'andy Website notes. "They have a risk profile for cardiovascular diseases or heart rhythm disorders. Furthermore, people that have had a heart attack (e.g. myocardial infarction) or heart surgery in the past would be appropriate patients."

In addition to its heart-monitoring functions, the H'andy phone contains all components of the modern smartphone. It can place calls and browse the Internet, and is equipped with a 1.2-megapixel camera.

Currently, the phone is available only in Europe for about 600 € (U.S. $832)—relatively inexpensive compared with the cost of frequent trips to the hospital. The researchers are currently updating the phone's medical features with the ability to read blood pressure and measure temperature. They hope to present the device to the FDA sometime next year.