If you suffer from a heart condition, your iPhone can now double as an electrocardiogram (ECG) for quick and easy readings of your heartbeat.
On June 16, Seattle, Washington-based company AliveCor announced a new device dubbed the iPhonECG system that transforms your iPhone or iPad into an electrocardiogram.
At this year's CES in Las Vegas, the company introduced an earlier version of the system, but it just unveiled a smaller, more streamlined model that is about the size of a business card and sticks to the back of an iPhone or iPad using Velcro.
To get a reading of your heartbeat, place the iPhonECG on your chest. A companion app integrates the device. The company claims that iPhonECG gives an accurate, clean medical reading of your heartbeat, records it, and immediately and securely uploads the reading onto a server and converts it into a PDF for analysis by a medical professional "within five seconds," according to the company.
While the device is not yet commercially available, the company has partnered with Oregon Scientific to manufacture the units, which are expected to sell for less than $100 a piece.
Another smartphone that doubles as an ECG is the EPI Life, a touchscreen phone featuring an ECG machine that, like the AliveCor phone, takes a reading of your heart when placed against your chest. And when it's not on medical duty, EPI Life works just like a normal phone. Launched in Singapore last year, the phone comes with a one-year price plan that includes the device and 10 ECG readings a month at 1,686 Singapore dollars (1,200 US) before taxes.
Learn more:
http://alivecor.com
http://www.epi.com
Watch a demo of the iPhoneECG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ3r-OoCj_8
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