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Surprising Science — January 21, 2012

Mobile App Helps Diagnosis Heart Attacks

A new mobile app that securely sends video and audio to cardiologists has helped diagnosis patients before they get to the hospital, meaning they receive better care when they arrive.

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What’s the Latest Development?

A new mobile app which facilitates the transmission of secure audio and video files to physicians has helped diagnose heart attacks early and could pave the way for a new off-site style of health care. The app, called CodeHeart, has already been used by first responders to send patient information, including EKG results, to cardiologists at the destination hospital. Early diagnosis of a heart attack can prevent another from occurring and mean better quicker and better treatment at the hospital.

What’s the Big Idea?

While hospitals and doctors’ offices have been slow to adopt new mobile technology, due mostly to an already heavy workload and concerns over medical record privacy, information sharing among patients and doctors, which new technology can facilitate, stands to greatly improve health care. CodeHeart could facilitate a quick conference between doctors at different hospitals who need to share patient data and provide a simple way to circumvent hospital information systems which are incompatible with each other.

Photo credit: shutterstock.com

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