A team of researchers at the polytechnic universities of Valencia (UPV) and Madrid (UPM), together with the Spanish firm Medtronic, have developed HeartCycle GEx, a remote rehabilitation system for people affected by different kinds of cardiac pathology.
The system, which is based on physical exercise routines, is designed for chronic patients, those recovering from a cardiovascular event (a myocardial infarction, for example) and those who have recently undergone heart surgery. In all these cases, it helps patients to do exercise and adopt a healthy lifestyle. The results have been published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
According to the program’s creators, the main advantage of the system is the ability to motivate patients as it manages to get users to follow the rehabilitation program in an easier and more accessible way. GEx incorporates multimedia content, an avatar and graphic information about indicators related to the patient’s performance: pulse rate, effort level, etc.
How does it work?
Developed as part of the European project HeartCycle GEx, the system connects the cardiologist to the patient online, and they can do rehabilitation exercises wearing a sensor vest at home. In addition, as they carry out the exercises, the user will receive information about their heart and breathing rates on their mobile phone as well as messages about whether to put in more or less effort depending on medical guidelines.
“The Achilles heel of cardiac rehabilitation is that patients give up on it after a few weeks, so its effect is reduced. This way, the user is motivated, the level of adherence will increase and their health will improve. The crucial point is to increase adherence to the rehabilitation plan and keep it going over time and this system can achieve that,” said Álvaro Martínez, a researcher at the ITACA institute at UPV.
Personalized Care
As the system makes it possible to monitor each user’s condition and evaluate their response to the therapies prescribed, it is possible to draw up specially tailored plans and detect any deterioration in health.
GEx could also be connected to hospital information systems to ensure optimal care designed especially for the patient.
Established guidelines
“Every time the patient does one of these exercises, the system sends the data again so that the doctor knows immediately if the patient’s efforts are following the established guidelines and can adjust the prescription if necessary,” added Álvaro Martínez.
The doctor has a web application at their disposal in which the personalized rehabilitation plan can be programmed. This app, which also transmits the prescribed plan to the patient, has been fully developed at the ITACA institute of the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.
“Currently cardiac rehabilitation programs in Spain are carried out in hospitals or specialized centers. HeartCycle GEx offers a convenient alternative way of accessing these programs, as patients can follow them from wherever they are, even their own home, and still maintain the quality of healthcare they receive,” said Cecilia Vera, a researcher at the Life Supporting Technologies group at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
Testing in hospitals
The system has been tested with 132 patients at three hospitals in Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. According to the information received, it produces better results than conventional rehabilitation programs. “This improvement can be seen especially in the functional capacity of the patient as well as weight loss and a reduction of cholesterol levels,” Alvaro Martinez explained.
“HeartCycle GEx is a first step toward the new cardiac rehabilitation systems of the future, offering personalized solutions adapted to each patient and accessible from anywhere,” Cecilia Vera concluded.
Bibliographical references: Skobel E, Martinez-Romero A, Scheibe B, Schauerte P, Marx N, Luprano J, Knackstedt C. «»Evaluation of a newly designed shirt-based ECG and breathing sensor for home-based training as part of cardiac rehabilitation for coronary artery disease»». European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Noviembre 2014. Doi: 10.1177/2047487313493227
Source: Servicio de Información y Noticias Científicas
