- German firm Hamberger Medical developed a smart toilet seat detecting atrial fibrillation accurately
- The HARO EKG-seat uses built-in sensors to record heart electrical activity for about 30 seconds
- Data is analyzed by a smartphone app for signs of cardiac arrhythmia during normal toilet use
German medical technology firm Hamberger Medical has developed a smart toilet seat that can detect atrial fibrillation (AFib), the most common heart rhythm disorder, with accuracy comparable to standard EKG tests done in clinics, the New York Post reported. AFib causes the heart to beat too slowly, too quickly, or irregularly. The device, called the HARO EKG-seat, looks like a regular toilet seat but has built-in EKG sensors similar to those used in hospitals.
When a person sits down, the seat records the heart's electrical activity for about 30 seconds. The data is sent to a companion smartphone app that analyses it for signs of cardiac arrhythmia.
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In the Hamberger Heart Study, researchers compared the toilet seat's 6-lead EKG system with a conventional 12-lead medical EKG.
The study, which is yet to undergo independent peer review, found a high level of agreement between the two methods.
Test subjects could operate the seat without special instructions. They just have to sit on it for about 30 seconds, while the app records data and then analyses it.
"...this allows for brief measurements of health parameters several times a day. The measurement can be integrated into an everyday activity (using the toilet)," the researchers noted. "This eliminates the need for users to be explicitly reminded to wear a device, and the stationary measurements allow for the targeted recording of health parameters."
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"If we intervene sooner in patients with AFib, their outcomes improve significantly," Dr Paari Dominic, who is a cardiac electrophysiologist and associate professor of internal and cardiovascular medicine, told the American Medical Association News Wire.
She stated that "recent studies have shown that pursuing a strategy to maintain a normal rhythm in patients with AFib within a year of detection produces better outcomes".
According to her, there is a subgroup of patients who already have "significant structural or electrical changes in their hearts" that put them at high risk of developing AFib. Such smart gadgets might help them.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)
