Accuracy and usability of single-lead ECG from smartphones - A clinical study

Background: Several wireless ECG devices are commercially available for possible screening, monitoring and diagnosis of rhythms. The field is rapidly expanding, and some devices have demonstrated acceptable qualities. The objective was to evaluate the accuracy, usability and diagnostic capabilities...

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Main Authors: Haakon Tillmann Haverkamp, Stig Ove Fosse, Peter Schuster
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2019-07-01
Series:Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0972629219300336
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author Haakon Tillmann Haverkamp
Stig Ove Fosse
Peter Schuster
author_facet Haakon Tillmann Haverkamp
Stig Ove Fosse
Peter Schuster
author_sort Haakon Tillmann Haverkamp
collection DOAJ
description Background: Several wireless ECG devices are commercially available for possible screening, monitoring and diagnosis of rhythms. The field is rapidly expanding, and some devices have demonstrated acceptable qualities. The objective was to evaluate the accuracy, usability and diagnostic capabilities of smartphone ECG in both patients and healthy controls. Methods: We used a commercially available smartphone ECG device, connected wirelessly to a tablet, to record a 30-s lead I ECG in 144 subjects—20 of whom repeated the test after vigorous exercise. The subjects included 94 patients under standard calculated 12-lead ECG surveillance; transcripts were obtained shortly after the smartphone ECG was acquired. Results: No significant differences were found in the QRS, frequency and QT intervals between the two modalities. Smartphone ECG recordings separated pathologic rhythms (atrial fibrillation (AF)/flutter, atrioventricular block, regular supraventricular rhythm, and pacing) from sinus rhythms with a sensitivity of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.97. The specific diagnosis of AF appeared in 11 patients and was detected with a sensitivity of 1 and a specificity of 0.94. There was a marginal decrease in the interpretability of the smartphone ECG after exercise. Inter- and intraobserver variability was low. Conclusions: Smartphone ECG accurately measures most baseline intervals and has acceptable sensitivity and specificity for pathological rhythms, especially for AF. Vigorous activity has a minor influence on the readability of the PR interval. Elderly patients may face challenges in recording a smartphone ECG correctly without assistance. According to our findings, the smartphone ECG would be applicable as a screening device for pathological rhythms. Keywords: Smartphone ECG, Atrial fibrillation, Screening, Digital health
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spelling doaj.art-9eb9002e8eb94848b3cb74430286483d2022-12-22T03:53:48ZengElsevierIndian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal0972-62922019-07-01194145149Accuracy and usability of single-lead ECG from smartphones - A clinical studyHaakon Tillmann Haverkamp0Stig Ove Fosse1Peter Schuster2Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Corresponding author. Gimlebakken 19C, 5052, Bergen, Norway.Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Heart Disease, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayBackground: Several wireless ECG devices are commercially available for possible screening, monitoring and diagnosis of rhythms. The field is rapidly expanding, and some devices have demonstrated acceptable qualities. The objective was to evaluate the accuracy, usability and diagnostic capabilities of smartphone ECG in both patients and healthy controls. Methods: We used a commercially available smartphone ECG device, connected wirelessly to a tablet, to record a 30-s lead I ECG in 144 subjects—20 of whom repeated the test after vigorous exercise. The subjects included 94 patients under standard calculated 12-lead ECG surveillance; transcripts were obtained shortly after the smartphone ECG was acquired. Results: No significant differences were found in the QRS, frequency and QT intervals between the two modalities. Smartphone ECG recordings separated pathologic rhythms (atrial fibrillation (AF)/flutter, atrioventricular block, regular supraventricular rhythm, and pacing) from sinus rhythms with a sensitivity of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.97. The specific diagnosis of AF appeared in 11 patients and was detected with a sensitivity of 1 and a specificity of 0.94. There was a marginal decrease in the interpretability of the smartphone ECG after exercise. Inter- and intraobserver variability was low. Conclusions: Smartphone ECG accurately measures most baseline intervals and has acceptable sensitivity and specificity for pathological rhythms, especially for AF. Vigorous activity has a minor influence on the readability of the PR interval. Elderly patients may face challenges in recording a smartphone ECG correctly without assistance. According to our findings, the smartphone ECG would be applicable as a screening device for pathological rhythms. Keywords: Smartphone ECG, Atrial fibrillation, Screening, Digital healthhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0972629219300336
spellingShingle Haakon Tillmann Haverkamp
Stig Ove Fosse
Peter Schuster
Accuracy and usability of single-lead ECG from smartphones - A clinical study
Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal
title Accuracy and usability of single-lead ECG from smartphones - A clinical study
title_full Accuracy and usability of single-lead ECG from smartphones - A clinical study
title_fullStr Accuracy and usability of single-lead ECG from smartphones - A clinical study
title_full_unstemmed Accuracy and usability of single-lead ECG from smartphones - A clinical study
title_short Accuracy and usability of single-lead ECG from smartphones - A clinical study
title_sort accuracy and usability of single lead ecg from smartphones a clinical study
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0972629219300336
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