Alivecor heart monitor that attaches to your iphone receives fda approval

Technological innovation and the ubiquity of smartphones continue to combine to enable diagnostics outside of the traditional healthcare setting. AliveCor is an electrocardiogram monitor that attaches to your iPhone and can take readings of your heart and send it to your cardiologist. It just received approval from the FDA and could be prescribed by doctors in the next few months.
 
Electrocardiograms, or ECGs, are used routinely to monitor a person’s heart health. This normally involves a series of electrodes attached to the chest, arms and legs. These electrodes track heart rate to detect any irregularities in heart rhythm, and measure the manner in which the electrical activity spreads across the heart. AliveCor has two leads right on a case that snaps onto the iPhone. Fingers of both hands touch the leads and heart rate is measured. The data, transmitted wirelessly to the iPhone, is analyzed by an app called AliveECG and stored on the company cloud. The data can be accessed at AliveCor.com and be sent to a cardiologist.
 
The company began developing AliveCor in 2008. The FDA approval is obviously a major milestone in their efforts to the company’s mobile health aspirations. AliveCor is not yet available for patients and consumers but it will be in the future. More information will be available in January on a release. In the meantime, the device is available to doctors who can go to the company website, enter in their license information, and order an AliveCor for $199 which they can prescribe to their patients. When available, the device is expected to be cheaper for consumers, around $99 each.