Device detects early signs of heart attack

This device may detect a heart attack as early as 20 miniuts before the person might know of their heart attack





Quebec invention detects early signs of heart attack
Last Updated Wed, 13 Oct 2004 20:36:02 EDT
MONTREAL - A company in Quebec has invented a device to detect the earliest signs of a heart attack and send the information to medics before the patient realizes anything is wrong.

For the victim of an acute heart attack, each passing minute raises the chance of dying. Each year, 80,000 Canadians die from cardiac arrest, according to Statistics Canada.


The Vital Positioning System analyses electrical activity from the heart.
The Vital Positioning System or VPS aims to improve the odds by getting help to the patient earlier. The device, which straps around the chest, was unveiled at the 6th Cardiologic Intervention Francophone Convention in Paris.

Inside the box, there are batteries and a small chip that analyses electrical activity from the heart, said Dr. St�phane Bergeron, the CEO of Medical Intelligence, the company that developed the device.

Sensors check for abnormal heartbeats, like an ECG machine would at a hospital.

The device then automatically transfers the results to a hypothetical medical team that would alert emergency services to send an ambulance.

A GPS system in the device would help paramedics to find the heart attack patient.

The VPS is a good idea, but is too difficult to use in Canada, according to Dr. David Langleben, head of cardiology at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital.


Dr. St�phane Bergeron

"It's an interesting technology," said Langleben. "The issues are really that, of course, you need a very rapid response ambulance team to be able to get there."

Langleben said the average ambulance response times in Quebec are often longer than in many European cities.

Research by Medical Intelligence suggests VPS can detect signs of a heart attack as much as 20 minutes beforehand.

The device is still in the testing stage. If it is approved and comes to the market, it will cost about $900 Cdn.

Written by CBC News Online staff


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