Cardiac Monitoring

TCS Innovation Labs – Bangalore has developed two devices: the Portable Cardiac Device and the Wearable Cardiac device (Silicon Locket)

The Need for the Solution

Cardiac deaths are usually characterized by a sudden cardiac arrest, with limited chance of resuscitation. Patients usually contact the cardiologist during or after heart attack.  Both, the patient and the doctor, are often unaware of the build up towards a heart attack.

Various types of apparatus are available in market to monitor an individual’s cardiac status outside hospital.  However, they are bulky in size, and all do not offer the same capacity to record and store cardiac activity. Therefore patients have to undergo “stress tests” in limited, and artificial, environments within the range of the base station. 

There is a clear need for a light and portable cardiac monitoring device that can also be wireless enabled for data transmission.

Challenges

Ensuring the folowing user friendly requirements poses a challenge;

• Low cost and low power sensor devices and certification
• Robust and efficient communication networking
• Data security and Privacy (Encryption, watermarking, digital certificates)
• Efficient visualization of medical data on multiple platforms including handhelds
• Standardization of data formats for sharing
• Data storage, fast retrieval, redundancy

TCS Solutions

Analysis of the various waves and normal vectors of depolarization and repolarisation in an ECG yields important diagnostic information. The lab’s Cardio solutions focus on ECG capture and analysis.

Portable Cardiac Device

Portable cardiac device by TCS Innovation Labs Bangalore, allows

• Continues 12 lead ECG recording, storing, and displaying the ECG trace
• 12 lead ECG transmission via GSM/GPRS module
• Emergency hook-up electrode (Bottom pad electrode) system

Wearable Cardiac Device (Silicon Locket)

Silicon locket (wireless wearable Cardiac device) developed by TCS Innovation Labs Bangalore in collaboration with IITB, allows

• Long-term monitoring of 5 lead, 3 channel ECG system,
• Online streamline individuals ECG trace via Bluetooth module and
• Patient’s movement status

Besides the long-term monitoring of cardiovascular patients, the silicon locket can function effectively in an emergency as well.  In the case of an emergency, it can trigger an alert via a bluetooth enabled mobile and the treating doctor can then view the ECG trace on the his handset, analyse and advise emergency measures till the patient reaches a hospital.

Benefits

Portable cardio monitors facilitate better healthcare through:

• "Any-time, Any-where" monitoring and analysis

• Better estimation of health insurance cost
• Reach of services to the masses
• Improvement in operational efficiency of medical staff
• Assurance of patient mobility while monitoring health, thereby improving the bed to patient ratio and reach of health care.
• Capture/storage of patient biological health records for better diagnosis/treatment and medical research