IneedMD’s EKG glove is an inexpensive, easy-to-use electro-cardiogram that interfaces directly with a tablet to monitor heart activity. Will this save lives*at home, hospitals and the battlefield?
Medical startups often focus on disruptive ways to deliver life-saving solutions that may not necessarily cost an arm and a leg. In 2010, a team started developing a glove — a mitten, actually — that was intended to replace traditional electrocardiograms (EKGs or ECGs). Emergency medical technicians usually employ a one-lead EKG during emergency situations, but this provides limited data on heart activity. At a hospital or lab setting, EKGs would use up to 12 leads to provide vectors of electrical conduction from different angles.
EKGs are usually difficult to apply, however, and will require a skilled technician and a cumbersome process. While EKG electrodes*may be*sterile, the plugs and wires that are connected to the leads are reused*– sometimes resulting in infection amongst injured patients.
IneedMD’s EKG Glove does away with all this complexity, and will allow a physician, or even any person without medical skills or knowledge, to use the device to track heart activity.
Once placed on the chest through a peel-and-stick action, the glove can be connected to any standard EKG machine. Even better, the EKG Glove has its own system-on-chip and Bluetooth radio, which enables it to interface with a Microsoft Surface tablet to display readings. The included application even interfaces with a cloud-based electronic healths record (EHR) system, for further analysis or record.
Applications for the EKG Glove extend from the home and hospital use to the field — the device has been lauded by a military contractors network as one of the best ligthweight, life-saving battlefield technologies for use by medics. Others include a foam injection for stopping bleeding, an ultrasonic tourniquet for*dealing with dramatic bleeding, and the HemCon bandage, which encourages coagulation to reduce bleeding.
What makes the device more attractive is its price. At $20 each, the EKG Glove can be inexpensively deployed across emergency services, field medics in the military services, hospitals, clinics and even homes.
Will the $20 EKG mitten save our lives?
Medical startups often focus on disruptive ways to deliver life-saving solutions that may not necessarily cost an arm and a leg. In 2010, a team started developing a glove — a mitten, actually — that was intended to replace traditional electrocardiograms (EKGs or ECGs). Emergency medical technicians usually employ a one-lead EKG during emergency situations, but this provides limited data on heart activity. At a hospital or lab setting, EKGs would use up to 12 leads to provide vectors of electrical conduction from different angles.
EKGs are usually difficult to apply, however, and will require a skilled technician and a cumbersome process. While EKG electrodes*may be*sterile, the plugs and wires that are connected to the leads are reused*– sometimes resulting in infection amongst injured patients.
IneedMD’s EKG Glove does away with all this complexity, and will allow a physician, or even any person without medical skills or knowledge, to use the device to track heart activity.
Once placed on the chest through a peel-and-stick action, the glove can be connected to any standard EKG machine. Even better, the EKG Glove has its own system-on-chip and Bluetooth radio, which enables it to interface with a Microsoft Surface tablet to display readings. The included application even interfaces with a cloud-based electronic healths record (EHR) system, for further analysis or record.
Applications for the EKG Glove extend from the home and hospital use to the field — the device has been lauded by a military contractors network as one of the best ligthweight, life-saving battlefield technologies for use by medics. Others include a foam injection for stopping bleeding, an ultrasonic tourniquet for*dealing with dramatic bleeding, and the HemCon bandage, which encourages coagulation to reduce bleeding.
What makes the device more attractive is its price. At $20 each, the EKG Glove can be inexpensively deployed across emergency services, field medics in the military services, hospitals, clinics and even homes.
Will the $20 EKG mitten save our lives?
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