Maladies that befall us personally or a colleague naturally impact our daily lives much more than any situation—whether catastrophic or not—that happens somewhere else in the world. Because of the nearness of the incident, we focus our thoughts and actions locally, concerned about the eventual outcome and motivated to help in any way we can.
Such was the case when a colleague of mine became ill, even to the point of experiencing considerable difficulty performing routine tasks. It was clear to me and many of his coworkers that this was not the symptom of a simple cold because he was coughing very frequently and experiencing extreme shortness of breath. Climbing the stairs to the second floor of our building required a considerable expenditure of his limited energy. Our concern for his well-being tended toward the overly protective since he previously had undergone two heart bypass operations. Additionally, he has an implanted de-fibrillator to regulate heart rhythms.
He was admitted to the hospital and treated with a diuretic for fluid buildup in the lungs that proved to be ineffective for his weakened condition. A subsequent diagnosis indicated he had contracted bronchitis and pneumonia, which is probably what he had when he entered the hospital.
With his long-standing heart-related problems, I'm sure he would benefit from a product that I learned about in a recent article by David Talbot in the MIT Technology Review. Developed by a startup company, Corventis, the device provides remote monitoring of the heart 24/7. Remote heart monitoring is not new, but this device is a small wireless sensor patch, only 15 centimeters in size, that is taped to the wearer's chest. According to the article, it monitors heart and respiration rates, buildup of body fluids, and the amount of patient activity.
Approved by the FDA, the patch has the potential to provide early detection of impending heart failure. Information from the sensor is transmitted wirelessly to the company's servers. If abnormal conditions are detected, whether heart rate, high bodily fluid levels, or unusual inactivity, the patient's doctors are alerted, enabling them to view the data on their PDAs and take appropriate action.
A unique feature of the sensor patch is the capability to detect fluid buildup in the body. As stated in the article, fluid buildup can lead to heart failure because it causes shortness of breath which puts pressure on the pulmonary arteries. Once this happens, the patient usually is hospitalized to remove the fluid. If the buildup can be detected early on even before the patient has any symptoms, doctors can prescribe a diuretic pill to eliminate the fluid. To measure fluids, the patch has an impedance detector that can electrically determine the buildup of fluid levels.
Even more interesting is the incorporation of an accelerometer in the patch that monitors the activity level of the patient. If the person becomes less active over time or is not lying flat in bed at night, an alarm is sent to the doctor. Less activity and not lying flat in bed indicate a shortness of breath, a precursor to fluid buildup in the lungs.
After a rather lengthy stay in the hospital and a drastic loss of weight, our colleague is recovering rather nicely and is back to work fulltime. No longer does he have to use the elevator to get to his office. It seems to me he would be a perfect candidate for wearing this patch. I bet he would agree.
Paul Milo
Editorial Director
[email protected]