The key to early detection could soon be folded in your dresser drawer.
Researchers in the UK are developing an AI T-shirt that should one day help doctors identify heart conditions more easily and efficiently than a traditional electrocardiogram (EKG).
The lead researchers have said they’re developing this piece of wearable tech in large part to help spot inherited heart conditions that sometimes show no outward symptoms and frequently go undetected.
A standard take-home EKG, the most widely used existing technology designed to detect irregular cardiac patterns, creates all kinds of hassles for the patient. It involves a good deal of playing Operation on yourself, sticking electrodes on precisely the right spots of the chest that then have to be removed and reattached every time you bathe.
A T-shirt is, of course, much easier to put on and take off. But this one is also designed to be worn for up to a week at a time — much longer than an EKG, which is typically only used for up to 48 hours at a time.
Millions of Americans have congenital heart conditions that put them at risk of dying from abnormal heart rhythms.
Some of these conditions lead to breathlessness and fainting during non-strenuous activities, or even sudden cardiac death (SCD). Since 1999, the rate of SCD in the US has risen among adults 25 to 44.
Diagnosing these conditions in a hospital is challenging because a random snapshot of a person’s heart rhythms rarely tells the whole story.
A quick, day-of EKG test or scan from a doctor could produce totally normal results. But data collected over the span of a week or more might expose a dangerous, potentially fatal, abnormality that other scans missed — allowing medical experts to take action before the worst happens.
Before the shirt hits the market, which its designers estimate won’t be for another several years, it will be rigorously tested with the help of cardiac patients and everyday volunteers.
With funding from the British Heart Foundation, the researchers are programming the shirts with data from upwards of 1,000 people — some of whom are living with inherited heart conditions and some of whom aren’t — to create an algorithm that should be able to flag abnormal rhythms.
This current project, led by Imperial College London cardiology professor Zachary Whinnett, will equip 200 volunteers with a smart tee that they will wear for three months, testing out its success at picking up heart abnormalities.
The shirt is being designed with a “sportswear-style material,” according to Medical Xpress. Though it will have up to 50 EKG-like sensors stitched into the fabric, the tee can be worn under regular clothing during all kinds of activities, including sleeping.
Carly Benge, a 38-year-old school teacher, is also involved in the development of the technology. She told Medical Xpress: “You can wear this T-shirt for weeks and even put it through the wash, and then put it back on again, so it’s a lot more practical than a portable [EKG].”
Benge was diagnosed with an inherited heart rhythm disorder, Brugada syndrome, as an adult. Her two kids, ages 7 and 10, may have inherited the disorder from her, but she doesn’t know yet — and she hopes this T-shirt will eventually help give her family some answers.
“I got involved in this research because I want my children to have more of a chance to be diagnosed early, if they do have Brugada syndrome,” she said. “If we can catch Brugada sooner and prevent sudden death, it could make me, and other parents, feel far more reassured that our children are safe.”
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