VivaLNK announced that its wireless ECG monitor can now be used to capture changes in heart rate and electrical activity in people with pulmonary hypertension (PH) or other disorders during the six-minute walk test (6MWT). The 6MWT is a common exercise routine used for patients with pulmonary hypertension, congestive heart failure, pre-lung transplant evaluation, interstitial lung disease, or COPD. It involves monitoring a patient while they walk as far as they can in a six-minute period and assessing cardiopulmonary function.

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The VivaLNK solution is used for clinical research in a variety of applications, such as cardiac rehab, digital biomarkers of arrhythmia onset, and pharmaceutical clinical trials, and includes a wearable ECG patch, a specialized mobile app, and cloud data services. In these studies, patients wear the wireless ECG patch while a clinician is able to monitor and control the test using a mobile app. Data collected during the test is then consolidated into a centralized database in the cloud for post-analysis, according to a press release.

In one study, up to 80 subjects across multiple sites are monitored for their ECG and heart rate before, during and after the exercise. A significant part of the technology selection includes device comfort for the patient and stability of the ECG during movement, as well as a mobile app designed for the protocol. At only 7.5 grams, VivaLNK's unique wearable ECG monitor is barely noticeable when worn. In addition, special built-in algorithms reduce motion artifacts to provide a smooth ECG signal during activity. For the study, VivaLNK also customized a mobile app to facilitate data capture even in the event of intermittent network disconnections.

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“Medical wearables are making it possible to explore new, potentially meaningful outcomes in clinical studies without adding much additional burden to patients or their clinicians,” says Robert F. Roscigno, PhD, Vice President, Clinical Development at Gossamer Bio.

Aside from the 6MWT, VivaLNK's medical data platform and wearable sensors are used in other applications such as mobile cardiac telemetry, oncology RPM, and virtual hospital patient monitoring.