iMPak Health, LLC has announced the launch of their new product, RhythmTrak, a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled cardiovascular mobile health and wellness application. RhythmTrak is being launched on the Android Platform for both smart phones and tablets and the company plans to have the application on the iOS platform by the end of the year. A joint venture of Swedish-based chip developer and innovator Cypak and Meridian Health, iMPak Health brings together the latest in wireless technology and the front-line know-how of today's health care environment to provide consumers and patients with effective and intuitive tools to better manage their health.
 

RhythmTrak is a handheld, credit card sized ECG device that documents heart rates and heart rate variability, calculates R to R intervals, and single lead waveforms. Data collected on the device is transmitted wirelessly using a NFC reader or an NFC enabled smart phone or tablet. The user then can simply forward the information to their physician. RhythmTrak is not intended to be a diagnostic device, but to be used to track patient symptoms during the active management of atrial fibrillation.
 

According to the American Heart Association, about 2 million Americans suffer from atrial fibrillation and related cardiac illness, putting them at risk for heart attacks and strokes. "Linking personal monitoring technologies such as RhythmTrak to practical everyday clinical protocols will improve the ability of both the clinician and the patient to better manage chronic conditions" said Richard Scott, M.D., Senior Vice President, Clinical Effectiveness, Meridian Health.

Operation is simple. First, one uses the heart monitor to gather vital statistics.


Next, by simply holding a smartphone over the monitoring device, information is transferred via NFC.


The information then becomes immediately available both to patients and their doctors. The information is presented in graphical form and allows both patients and doctors to carefully monitor the results of medications and treatments.

"It can be incredibly empowering for a patient to have a tool that helps them work with their physician to determine if they may need a change in medication or therapy, especially when it comes to overall heart health," added Sandra Elliott,  director, Consumer Technology and Service Development, Meridian Health. "Even patients undergoing ablation, a surgical procedure sometimes used to treat atrial fibrillation may still have symptoms after their procedure. The key is to understand if patients show improvement over time."
 

iMPak Health has submitted RhythmTrak for FDA approval in the United States and CE approval in the European Market.