Our friend David E. Winchester, MD, who is the curator of EchoJournal, has filed this report from the ACC meeting in Chicago.
For physicians interested in global assessment of patients’ cardiovascular risk, Panasonic’s Cardiohealth Station compiles data from several sources to quickly summarize risk. The station is a stand-alone device which is capable of communicating with other medical devices using the Continua wireless standard. This technology allows it to incorporate body measurements, vital signs, and ECG data from other devices and combine this with demographic data either directly inputted or transmitted from a compatible EMR system.
The major advance with the device is the addition of an ultrasound probe for measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). This usually requires a technologist to perform the test and a specialist to interpret the images and then additional calculation to determine if a patient’s result is abnormal and predicts a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The Cardiohealth Station automates the detection of CIMT and uses the patient’s information to determine how abnormal the results are. The end product is a report provided for the clinician and patient which incorporates the risk factor and CIMT data to demonstrate the patient’s risk for cardiovascular disease.
Product page: CardioHealth Station…
Flashback: CardioHealth Station for Ultrasound Measurement of Intima-Media Thickness Gets FDA OK
