Going Wireless

Over 5.8 million Americans face chronic heart failure and it’s not always the direct impact of the failure that can be dangerous but the aftermath. People who experienced heart failure undoubtedly have a weaken heart and trips to the hospital are frequent. These trips can be time consuming, costly and sometimes dangerous as invasive maneuvers can be needed sometimes to measure arterial pressure. However, a recent development has tried to amend this problem though wireless technology. A wireless heart monitor has been put to the test and results have been promising. The device relays heart information directly to the hospital eliminating trips and invasive operations. A study over 6 months had shown a 30% decrease in hospital visit of patient with the wireless monitor. This device also greatly improves the unlikelihood of a second relapse with the patient so carefully checked so frequently. However, one of the best features of this device is the lack of an external power source making it more hassle free and more available to a wider array of patients. Instead the device uses a microelectromechanical system, eliminating the need of a power source that requires changing and electrical leads that can break.

Overall, I found this article to be very groundbreaking. The ability for doctors to monitor patients without the visits greatly improve a patient’s recovery from a life-threatening problem by giving the doctors and the patients a forewarning of complications down the line. In addition, the lack of an external power supply reduces equipment failures that can be dangerous.

Link: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=wireless-heart-monitor

Angdi Liu