The University of California San Francisco is conducting a six-month clinical trial on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a deadly heart condition that can affect athletes.
UCSF will use Vivalink's Biometrics Data Platform for the study, which will consist of 70 patients, and will evaluate if regimented moderate intensity exercise improves overall exercise capacity and cardiac blood flow.
HCM is thought to be the most common inherited heart condition, estimated to affect about 1 in 500 perople. HCM can lead to heart failure and atrial fibrillation, and is cited as the most common cause of sudden death in young athletes, accounting for 35 to 50 percent of cases.
The UCSF study, EXCITE-HCM, is funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, and led by Theodore Abraham.
“In this study, we hope to identify ways to prevent adverse health events for these patients,” said Abraham said in a statement. “Vivalink’s medical-grade sensors and data services will help us find accurate endpoints during the trial.”
Subjects in the research trial will be monitored using the Vivalink wearable ECG sensor and cloud data platform to track electrical activity throughout the study. The reusable sensor will continually capture ECG and heart rate data 24 hours a day which will be processed through Vivalink’s biometrics platform.
According to Vivalink, the platform ensures data is delivered successfully from any location for centralized analysis and processing in order to extract clinically relevant insights in real-time or retrospectively.
In addition to capturing ECG rhythm and heart rate, the multi-function sensor can also monitor heart rate variability, respiratory rate and offer accelerometer data. The sensor is used in other applications and studies, such as in-hospital patient monitoring, atrial fibrillation, remote patient monitoring, and chemo treatment event detection.