Monitoring Afib by Smartphone?

Officials with Abbott have secured FDA clearance for the Confirm Rx™ Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM), the world's first and only smartphone compatible ICM designed to help physicians remotely identify cardiac arrhythmias, according to a press release from the company.

By incorporating Bluetooth wireless technology, Abbott has advanced remote monitoring by allowing patients to connect their ICM to their smartphone via the myMerlin™ mobile app. Once implanted—just under the skin in the chest during an outpatient procedure—Confirm Rx continuously monitors heart rhythms to detect a range of cardiac arrhythmias, including irregular heartbeats, or atrial fibrillation.

Data collected by the device is then securely transmitted to a patient's physician via the mobile app on a schedule set by the clinic. The app also allows patients to record symptomatic events from their own smartphone without the need for additional hardware such as handheld activators or bedside transmitters.

Reference

Abbott launches the first and only smartphone compatible insertable cardiac monitor in the US [news release]. ABBOTT PARK, Ill. Abbott media relations. October 23, 2017. http://abbott.mediaroom.com/2017-10-23-Abbott-Launches-the-First-and-Only-Smartphone-Compatible-Insertable-Cardiac-Monitor-in-the-U-S