by There are approximately 64 million cases of heart failure worldwide. According to the American Heart Association, 6.2 million adults in the United States have heart failure, and this number is estimated to increase to 8 million by 2030. Heart failure is a progressive clinical syndrome characterized by a structural abnormality of the heart. cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs.
Two heart failure monitoring systems are currently available. However, since they are surgically placed under the skin, they are costly and carry risks. In addition, about half of patients with heart failure do not need an implantable device or are not suitable for the thoracic (the area between the neck and abdomen) monitoring that these devices provide. There is a critical need for non-invasive solutions to monitor heart failure progression around the clock.
In collaboration with FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s School of Engineering and Computer Science have developed a new prototype of a wearable device that can continuously monitor all physiological parameters associated with heart failure in real time.
The technology is based on sensors embedded in a lightweight belt that is conveniently worn around the waist to monitor thoracic impedance, electrocardiogram (ECG), heart rate and motion activity detection. The system uses different sensors to detect these parameters. Thoracic impedance is a critical biosignal for monitoring heart failure progression. Similarly, EKG is a vital biosignal for diagnosing and predicting cardiovascular diseases. The EKG measures electrical signals passing through the heart using a Holter monitor that is not suitable for bedside use.
For research published Scientific Reports, the researchers tested the wearable device in different conditions, such as sitting, standing, lying down, and walking. For each condition, results were obtained for each of the sensors in turn. Selected physiological parameters are important in determining heart failure symptoms.
The findings showed that all sensors tracked changes for all different conditions. The position sensor accurately highlighted the change in position in different conditions, and can be used to identify different situations of the person wearing the device. Also, the heart rate sensor constantly tracked the heart rate. More importantly, the device accurately highlighted small changes in thoracic impedance.
As with most EKG monitors, the ECG sensor in the wearable was very sensitive to movement, especially when walking. However, the ECG sensor retained the QRS complex (the electrical impulse emanating from the heart’s ventricles) and R-peaks (the intervals of the QRS complex), which are important indicators of left ventricular hypertrophy, even while walking. an increase in the size of myocardial fibers in the main cardiac pumping chamber.
Senior author and associate professor in the FAU Department of Electrical Engineering, Ph.D. “All the sensors we have integrated into our belt module can be easily worn for extended periods of time without affecting the patient’s daily activities,” said Waseem Asghar. and Computer Science. “Importantly, continuous, real-time monitoring of heart failure symptoms can alert patients and their healthcare providers that the patient’s health is deteriorating. In turn, healthcare providers can intervene with medications to prevent the patient from being hospitalized.”
The researchers expect their technology to have higher predictive values for heart failure, with increased specificity and higher sensitivity.
D., assistant professor and co-author at FAU Christine E. “About 1 in 4 patients with heart failure are readmitted within 30 days of hospital discharge, and about half within six months,” said Mary Ann Leavitt. Lynn College of Nursing. “Healthcare wearables like the prototype we developed have the potential to reduce hospital readmissions in a cost-effective way that is safe and convenient for the user.”
Based on the study results, the researchers are currently testing the module on a number of different topics to develop an algorithm to predict heart failure from the test set.
“This wearable device for monitoring heart failure is my main project at Dr. Asghar’s Micro and Nanotechnology in Medicine Lab, with significant social implications for the fastest growing cardiovascular disease in the US.” research assistant and PhD student of FAU’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “We are developing a non-invasive solution that can be used by all heart failure patients for better management, diagnosis and prognosis that can serve the masses.”
Study co-authors Imadeldin Mahgoub, Ph.D., Professor of Tecore; and Sarah E. Du, Ph.D., both associate professors in FAU’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
This research was supported by FAU’s Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering (I-SENSE) and FAU’s Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science.
Story Source:
materials provided by Florida Atlantic University. Originally written by Gisele Galoustian. Note: Content can be edited for style and length.
