This mobile app can reduce your stroke risk: Here's how
Researchers have developed a new mobile application that can detect atrial fibrillation - a leading cause of stroke - with incredible accuracy, and can timely prevent heart related complications. The application, which had been in development for seven years, opens up entirely new possibilities in medical science, as detecting atrial fibrillation had been a worldwide medical challenge for years. Here are the details.
First off, what is atrial fibrillation?
The most common type of arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation is characterized by irregular and often rapid heart rate that can lead to stroke, blood clots, or heart failure if left unchecked. Atrial fibrillation is difficult to detect without the use of an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine.
The app can detect atrial fibrillation with 96% accuracy
The application was developed by the Department of Future Technologies of the University of Turku in Southwestern Finland. For the study, which has been published in the science journal Circulation, the researchers studied 300 people, half of whom had atrial fibrillation. Using a smartphone loaded with the app, the researchers were able to identify those with atrial fibrillation with 96% accuracy.
The app can differentiate between different conditions and contexts
"The results are also significant in that the group included different kinds of patients, some of whom had heart failure, coronary disease, and ventricular extrasystole at the same time," said Tero Koivisto from the Department of Future Technologies who led the team.
Efforts are already underway to commercialize the app
The app uses an algorithm and accelerometer sensors which are found in almost every smartphone. The app is currently being commercialized by university spin-off company Precordior Ltd. which is currently in talks with investors in both Asia and the Silicon Valley to take the app to global markets. Once in the market, the app would help in inexpensive detection of atrial fibrillation.
The app is one step ahead of doctors
"The results are remarkable as intermittent atrial fibrillation is not always detected even at the doctor's office," said co-author Juhani Airaksinen, Professor of Cardiology from Turku University Hospital in Finland.
Another app which can detect atrial fibrillation with decent accuracy
Notably, this isn't the first attempt to use mobile apps to detect atrial fibrillation. In 2016, an iPhone app called Cardiio Rhythm was created by a team at The Chinese University of Hong Kong that could detect atrial fibrillation with 92% accuracy. However, instead of accelerometers, the app uses phone cameras to analyze changes in facial skin color to find fluctuations in heart rate.
