Gizmodo: ECG

VitalJacket: Heart Monitor And T-Shirt in One

Kit Eaton — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:38:16 EDT

Some of the same kind of health telemetry that the French army may be using could be yours in the new VitalJacket product. It's a smart T-shirt with a built-in electrocardiogram monitor, designed for both medical diagnostics and sports fitness uses. It's supposed to be less awkward than conventional devices, as well as more comfortable. The HWM200 version sends data on the wearer's heart over a Bluetooth link to a phone or PDA, allowing real-time monitoring. The 100 version stores it on an SD card for later analysis on a PC and allows the wearer to define heart rate limits which trigger a vibration alarm in the shirt. Both editions are available for pre-order for around $635. [Vitaljacket via Talk2myshirt]

Universal ECG is World's Smallest, Sedates Your Curiosity Anywhere

Haroon Malik — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:31:00 EDT

DRE, the Louisville medical tech company, has just unleashed the world's smallest ECG system. The compact device consists of the obligatory 12 leads and a small attachment that carries the necessary software for ECG interpretation. The Universal ECG hooks directly up to desktop PCs, laptops or Pocket PCs running Windows XP or 2000.

Unlike old school devices that use a clunky great machine, the Universal ECG can save electrocardiogram data directly to the physician's computer for analysis and sharing, which should save cash on printing out millions of the readouts each day. Though the device probably won't be as accurate as said clunky machine, its portability will surely make it a must for all those hypercondriacs among us. Feeling a little coronary ischemia coming on? (House rules.) [Medgadget]

Monitor Heart Safety By Turning Your Cellphone Into an ECG

Jason Chen — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:08:34 EST

Most of us would never need an electrocardiogram embedded into our cellphones to monitor our hearts, but most of us aren't recovering from a heart attack. For those people that are, this Swedish invention that turns any old cellphone into a monitor that can automatically call a doctor or the hospital if your heart explodes is something they'd pay loads and loads of Swedish kronas for. Or meatballs. We think they're pretty much interchangeable. [The Inquirer]

CardioPocket: Is that an EKG in Your Pocket?

Mark Wilson — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:40:03 EDT

The CardioPocket by CardioSen'C isn't just another wallet, though we're guessing you knew that since the word "cardio" is attached to the (can I pull off the word "bloody" here?) thing.

Designed to function as a normal wallet during the day, at night (after several hours of boozing and dancing), Grandpa can feel confident that those chest pains are just from the stripper heels. By simply holding the CardioPocket to his chest, Grandpa can transmit a real-time electrocardiogram to a remote monitoring center over the phone.

Then hopefully, the monitor center will inform Grandpa that he is merely "tripping balls" again and to get home safely. While we're not sure of the price, similar devices can be built for around $20. They just might not hold his Scores punch card in so much pleather style. – Mark Wilson

Manufacturer Page [via medgadget]

CardioSen'C: Portable ECG Transmits Data to Doctors Via Cellphones

www.gizmodo.com — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:58:01 EDT

Attending hospital for an ECG reading could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the CardioSen'C, a portable device that can check for arrhythmia, ischemia, or myocardial infarction. SHL, the Israeli company behind the device, reckons it could help in the fight against cardiac disease—in this country alone 1.5 million people suffer heart attacks each year, a third of which are fatal.

The CardioSen'C uses more electrodes than normal ECGs to measure heart activity. Patients strap the 12 electrodes to their chest and upper body and the battery unit, attached to their chest, gives an instant reading. The results can then be relayed instantly to the patient's cardiologist by cellphone for instant diagnosis.

The device is so small it can be carried anywhere and is expected to cost several hundred dollars when it is eventually marketed here. If you're a nervous traveler with a heart complaint then this could be the gadget for you, but don't expect it to help if you bump into Mola Ram in the Nantucket Mini-Mart.

You can see a pic of the CardioSens'C after the jump.

– Ad Dugdale

Israeli firm's device can transmit heart data directly to doctors [SF Gate]