An app to place your mobile phone on your chest to find out if you have heart problems
Today I learned about a Finnish startup that promises to change the way we monitor our heart health, using nothing more than our mobile phones. This company, CardioSignal, claims to be able to detect heart disease using the motion sensors built into smartphones.
I read the story on TNW , where they point out that it all started with the interest of Jussu Blomster, CEO of CardioSignal and a clinical cardiologist with nearly two decades of experience. The idea came to him while working in Australia, where he noticed his patients' growing interest in using fitness trackers to monitor their cardiovascular health. However, smartwatches, despite their popularity, didn't offer the necessary accuracy for clinical analysis. That's when Blomster's team, in Finland, began exploring the potential of motion sensors in smartphones and discovered they could measure heart movements with an accuracy comparable to that of echocardiography. This led to the development of an app for Android and iOS.
How does CardioSignal work?
The paid CardioSignal app transforms your smartphone into a diagnostic tool. When you place the phone on your chest, its accelerometer and gyroscope sensors capture your heart's movement. This data is sent to a cloud service where it's analyzed for atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common heart rhythm disorder. What's remarkable about this method is that it's clinically validated and classified as a Category IIa medical device by the European Commission, reflecting its reliability and accuracy.
Despite the popularity of smartwatches from brands like Apple and Samsung with autofocus detection, CardioSignal offers a significant advantage: the ability to measure heart rate directly by placing the phone on the chest. This provides more detailed and accurate information than other wearable devices, which are limited to reading pulses on the wrist.
CardioSignal doesn't stop at atrial fibrillation. There are plans to expand its screening capabilities to include other conditions such as heart failure, aortic stenosis, coronary artery disease, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. This approach reflects a broader trend toward using smartphones as personal medical devices, capable of managing and monitoring our health more effectively.
Despite challenges such as data security, the potential for improving access to and quality of healthcare is enormous. In the not-too-distant future, we could carry in our pockets not just a means of communication but a powerful tool for caring for our hearts.
- The app link for Android and iOS is available on its official website: cardiosignal.com