Project: Electrocardiogram for Life
The ECG4LIFE CO project objective is to research and develop an innovative low-cost electrocardiogram (hereinafter ECG) device coupled with an IT system to improve the management of remote control ECG improving the quality of life and health conditions of the citizens affected by pathologies, guaranteeing a correct use of the social and health services limiting the welfare costs._x000D_The ECG4LIFE project has a market and social driver: heart disease is the CO cause of early disability and premature death in western countries and its incidence increases with age. Most of the cardiac deaths occur outside of the hospital and new strategies are needed to reduce the time before treatment and to detect as early as possible the onset of cardiac events. The ECG is one useful diagnostic tool that is immediately available to assess the probability of most cardiac events. The availability of portable and communicant devices, services and systems, is very useful for health purposes for filing, exchange and treatment of medical data. It allows fast out-of-hospital assistance and integrated services to citizens affected by pathologies._x000D_THE NEED_x000D_At the basis of the present initiative there is the understanding of the technological and market barriers that are preventing on one side to a wider mass-dissemination of ECG devices and on the other side the introduction of important technological innovations. At present, the CO cost in an ECG machine is the AFE (Analog Front End). To achieve a full 12-leads trace, 8 physical analog channels are required and each analog channel must implement expensive Instrumentation Amplifiers in order to sense signals of few mV (i.e. milli-volts) over noise of hundreds of mV. Accordingly, nowadays, the final unit market price of an ECG device starts from 400€ till thousands of euros resulting a relevant economic barrier to a wide mass-dissemination among the population willing to perform frequent checks in order to prevent serious heart diseases. On the other side, in a really minor number of cases, Hospitals or Private structures can provide a dedicated hardware through which patient can have ECG at home and send it over the Net letting the cardiology physicians perform the analysis. The remote control, while saving the time needed by hospital visits, is highly expensive (for user and/or for medical assurance) as it needs expensive ECG devices, and involves complex health structures that have not been set up with specific capabilities to handle and correctly manage remote services. Coherently, most of hospital structures invites patients in situ for periodic cardiac check requiring several time-consuming task _x000D_THE OBJECTIVES_x000D_The specific objectives of the ECG4LIFE project are:_x000D_- To develop a new ECG device at an affordable price for remote control. The target is to reach a product cost of 40 Euro and a selling price in the 70-100€ range (against the 1000€ as average present market price for equivalent ECG devices), which means a reduction to one tenth of the portable ECG devices price, compared to products with the same characteristics (sample rate =>1KHz, 16bit ADC, simultaneous 12 traces, CMMR > 100dB, dynamic range 5mV), currently present in the market; _x000D_- To significantly improve some of the current available performances in portable device in terms of accuracy of the ECG signal to be transmitted in remote; _x000D_- To develop an IT system able to support stakeholders (patient, health structure management and physicians) to handle in a correct way the utilisation of remote ECG by an expected high number of patients. _x000D__x000D_The achievement of the project objectives will allow to address CO social benefit such as:_x000D_• Foster the usage of Remote control reducing the overall citizens/community costs_x000D_• To increase the frequency of ECG controls for people with heart disease, with foreseeable advantages in prevention of serious hearth potential problems by timely intervention._x000D_• Allow to enlarge the usage of ECG to family member of heart-disease patients._x000D_• Build up an ECG Bank, in particular of healthy people, to be used as health pattern reference to detect upcoming disease (in pre-screened people) identifying abnormal waves from typical, maybe congenital, characteristic wave._x000D_The project results are expected to increase quality of life while contributing to reduce the costs of health structures by optimising the overall process of ECG control diminishing the presence of patients in the hospital structure._x000D__x000D_The ECG4LIFE project will be collaboratively carried out by 2 high-tech innovative SMEs and 1 University_x000D_1. Melzi, an Italian SMEs with competences in sw/domotic solution for innovation processes with specialized competence in BioMedical._x000D_2. Pilipili, a Belgian R&D-Performing, specialized in industrial design in various markets: machine housings, electronic applications, medical appliances._x000D_3. University of Brescia, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, the largest department of the Faculty.
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Acronym
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ECG4LIFE
(Reference Number: 6089)
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Duration
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01/06/2011 - 31/05/2014
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Project Topic
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The project goal is to provide an innovative low-cost ECG portable device and an IT advanced system in order to support the management of remote control ECG check-up from the site of users and health structures.
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Network
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Eurostars
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Call
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Eurostars Cut-Off 5
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Project partner
