Podcast dissects convergence of medical and consumer sectors

October 11: B-Secur has marked World Heart Day by producing two podcasts which examine the transformation of medical devices and consumer wearables and look to a future where this technology can help tackle the world’s number one killer, cardiovascular disease.

The podcast series, Health at Heart sees, B-Secur CTO, Adrian Condon speak in-depth with respected cardiologists, Dr David Steinhaus and Dr Andrew Mitchell.

Cardiovascular disease is currently the world’s leading cause of death claiming 18.6 million lives around the globe each year.

Created by the World Heart Federation, World Heart Day (Sept 29) is held each year to inform people around the globe that CVD, including heart disease and stroke, is the world’s number one killer, and highlights the actions that individuals can take to prevent and control CVD.

While modern medicine and advancements in medical technology are attempting to reduce the yearly death toll, World Heart Day also seek to educate people that by controlling risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, at least 80% of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke can be avoided.

In the second episode Adrian Condon discusses the convergence of medical devices and consumer wearables with Dr Andrew Mitchell.

Dr Mitchell is a consultant cardiologist at Jersey General Hospital and is honorary consultant at Oxford University Hospitals, England. He heads up a digital health research lab, and during the COVID pandemic, he was chief clinical information officer for Jersey.

In the podcast the respected cardiologist looks at how the medical and consumer sectors are in a period of sustained convergence.

He said: “As the speed of processing power increases, we’re able to move some of the medical quality equipment that we’ve seen used in hospitals to wearable devices. We’ve got devices like Fitbits and Apple Watches, and more dedicated devices which are providing patients with access to their own health data.

“I think as we move forward over the next five years, we do need to give people their data. So, I think that by providing patients with their own medical data and the tools to then analyse that; not only are they more likely to remain healthy, but I think they’re less likely to remain in care, and they’ll remain well.

“I think one of the key things is giving patient empowerment or control over their health information. We as doctors, might ask the patient if we can have access to their medical data rather than the other way around.”

Dr Mitchell, who sits on B-Secur’s scientific board, said software such as B-Secur’s HeartKey 2.0 allows the patients, not only to identify their own heart condition, but potentially access the right information to help them.

He said: “We need to get the ECG systems to be more accurate, and HeartKey 2.0 allows device manufacturers to access a clear algorithm to help tackle abnormal heart rhythm changes. By giving the population access to this health technology, it’s going to help protect them from potentially dangerous heart conditions in later life.”

Listen to the Health at Heart podcast here.