Stacy Gehman

A user-friendly integrated monitor-adhesive patch for long-term ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring.

BACKGROUND Compliance to long-term ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring is important for diagnosis in patients with cardiac arrhythmia. This requires a system with a minimal impact on daily activities. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate if a lightweight integrated adhesive monitor for long-term use without unacceptable adverse effects is feasible. METHODS The participants wore either a prototype lightweight monitor or a control system for a total of up to 30 days, changing patches once (investigational device) or twice (control) weekly. Comfort, skin irritation, and impact on quality of life were recorded. RESULTS The new monitor can be worn by most participants for periods of at least 6 days. Skin irritation and comfort rating were comparable, and impact on the quality of life was low compared with the control. Patients considered the device comfortable. CONCLUSION An integrated adhesive monitor that can be worn on the skin up to 7 days with minimal side effects is feasible.

Detection of ventricular ectopy by a novel miniature electrocardiogram recorder

BACKGROUND The ability of a miniaturized, skin-attached, 3-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) recorder prototype to detect ventricular ectopic beats (VEBs) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) was compared with that of standard Holter ECG. METHODS Concurrent 15-hour ECG recordings were made in 143 patients using an experimental device provided by Philips Healthcare (Seattle, WA) and a commercially available Holter recorder. In a consensus review process, 3 physicians (M.L., A.J., and A.G.), blinded for the recording device, analyzed 1804 seven-second strips for total number of VEBs, total number of their QRS configurations, and presence of VF. Agreement between the experimental and standard devices was calculated using Spearman correlation coefficients. RESULTS There was 100% agreement regarding VF recognition. Spearman correlation coefficients were 0.98 (P < .001) for the total number of VEBs and 0.91 (P < .001) for the total number of QRS configurations. CONCLUSIONS The accuracy of the experimental miniaturized ECG recorder for detecting ventricular activity was found to be high. This finding could be of clinical importance.

Quality of ECG Monitoring with a Miniature ECG Recorder

Background: Long‐term monitoring of patients at risk of arrhythmias would benefit from a miniaturized device. This study evaluated the quality of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals recorded by a miniaturized ECG recorder.