The FDA cleared the first six-lead personal electrocardiogram device, which can detect arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation, bradycardia and tachycardia, according to CNET, a consumer electronics publication.
The device, called KardiaMobile 6L, is produced by AliveCor and has five more leads than the Apple Watch. It is the only consumer EKG of its kind. KardiaMobile 6L is compatible with Android and Apple iOS, according to CNET.
Users will place their thumbs on two electrodes on top of the device and place a third electrode on their left knee or ankle, creating a triangle commonly used in cardiology called the Einthoven triangle. This formation enables physicians to see six perspectives of electrical activity in the heart, according to a press release.
"I am impressed with the quality and simplicity of six-lead smartphone ECG tracings which will unquestionably sharpen our ability to diagnose heart rhythm and conduction abnormalities. It's a welcome and needed step forward for mobile heart diagnostics," cardiologist Eric Topol, MD, founder and director of Scripps Research Translational Institute, said in the press release.
The device will be available in June.
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