Scientists at Pennsylvania State University have developed a skin sensor to warn of complications of heart failure. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.
In heart failure, the heart cannot pump blood efficiently to the rest of the body. After discharge, patients should monitor their condition by weighing themselves daily and monitoring for swelling, fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain. After hospitalization, patients are often hospitalized again because of fluid buildup in the lungs.
522 people were included in the study. They wore the µCor monitor, which uses radio frequency signals to assess fluid levels in the lungs, for 90 days. While the data of one half of the patients were available to the doctor, the data of the other half were simply collected but not sent to the doctors. The µCor system was able to retrieve information about pulmonary edema before symptoms appeared.
Patients with heart failure whose data were obtained by a physician were 38% less likely to be rehospitalized. Additionally, they were 38% less likely to develop serious complications or death. When doctors received reports of possible pulmonary edema, they often prescribed diuretics to reduce fluid retention and also increased the dose of other medications.
The device was attached to the left side of the chest with adhesive tape and was much less bulky than existing analogues.
The study was conducted by Zoll Medical Corp., developer of the µCor sensor. funded by.