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A simple cost effective non-invasive wearable bioimpedance belt can be a boon for susceptible heart failure patients.
There are about 64 million cases of heart failure worldwide as per AHA (American Heart Association). Heart failure is a progressive clinical syndrome characterized by a structural abnormality of heart, in which heart is unable to pump sufficient blood to meet the body’s requirement.
Currently there are invasive as well as some non-invasive solutions to monitor susceptible heart failure patients. But most of these are quite expensive. Moreover, it is estimated half of these potential patient groups, don’t need an invasive solution. A non – invasive Bio-impedance belt to monitor fluid buildup in thoracic region could be a potential cost-effective solution when used in conjunction with other non-invasive biomonitoring parameters like electrocardiogram (ECG), heart rate and motion activity detection.
The buildup of thoracic fluid can start days to weeks, before clinical symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling (edema) becomes apparent. To understand this mechanism of fluid buildup, one needs to deep dive into the pathophysiology of heart failure.
Heart Failure Pathophysiology:
In heart failure, the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively is compromised. This leads to an increased pressure in the veins and capillaries that return blood to the heart, particularly those in the lungs. As the pressure in this blood vessel increases, fluid begins to leak into the surrounding lung tissue, causing pulmonary congestion. This fluid buildup in thoracic cavity is a direct result of heart’s reduced pumping efficiency. Detecting these changes early, can help in timely intervention and management.
When I say fluid buildup, it will be noteworthy to mention what this fluid is. The fluid mentioned here is a combination of plasma and interstitial fluid. The interstitial fluid are fluids that exist in spaces between cells in the tissues.
Bio-impedance Technology:
We can monitor this fluid buildup using a non-invasive Bio-impedance belt. The Bio-impedance technology is gaining prominence owing to its cost effectiveness and ease of use. The principle behind this is bioimpedance that measures the opposition to the flow of electric current through body tissues, which varies with the amount of fluid present. The electrodes placed on the body, deliver a small electric current and the impedance (resistance) to this current flow is measured. Lower impedance means, higher the fluid content. The beauty is this can be monitored continuously using a wearable belt in a home care set up.
What do we do if there is a presence of such fluid buildup:
When fluid builds up in potential heart failure patient, prompt and effective treatment is essential to manage symptoms, prevent complications and improve the quality of life. This can be treated by lifestyle modification, drugs like diuretics, ACE Inhibitors, ARB’s or Beta Blockers type medications. Effectively this will prevent a certain heart failure.
What are the alternate technologies to detect early heart failure?
Non-Invasive Method: Dielectric sensing is a highly accurate method to quantify lung fluid volume. This is a technology in which ability to store electrical energy of lung tissue, is measured. This property changes with amount of fluid content, allowing the device to quantify the amount of fluid. But this needs a very costly sophisticated wearable vest. Here the high price and less accessibility for such a technology could be deterrent.
Invasive Methods: There are surgically implanted devices available currently for heart failure monitoring
Conclusion:
In the above article, every effort was made to simplify the language used here, for everyone’s understanding. I foresee a huge potential for a non-invasive cost-effective Bio-impedance belt, in a country like India. There is a large section of potential susceptible heart failure patients, who are not being monitored now. At IIIT-H Data IHub Foundation - Hyderabad, a team led by Prof. Deva Priyakumar, Dr Maitreya Maity, Dr Kiron Varsha and team has developed a very cost effective proto of a Wearable Bioimpedance Belt. The solution was developed by AI/ML algorithms using enough data from Indian population. This technology is now ready for tech transfer. We look forward for an association with MNC giants or Indian medical device manufacturers to use this opportunity to productize it.
About the Author:
Judish Raj has almost three decades of experience in medical devices & life sciences instrumentation technology. He is currently serving as Manager – Healthcare Innovations & Business Development at IIIT-H Data IHub Foundation - Hyderabad
IHub-Data is a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) established by IIIT Hyderabad as part of the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) scheme of Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India.
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