SFU’s School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Surrey’s campus has created a heart monitoring system by combining 3D printing and artificial intelligence.
The move could transform the way doctors measure and diagnose patients’ heart health, according to a university press release.
The system features reusable dry 3D-printed electrodes that are embedded in a soft chest belt. The belt is an origami-shaped design using gentle suction to stick to the skin. Instead of electrolyte gel, a carbon-based ink printed on a suction cup is used, conducting the heart’s electrical signals through to a wearable device with built-in AI software.
This software will pre-diagnose up to 10 types of arrhythmias, or irregular heart rhythms.
“Current ECG testing relies on single-use sticky patches and gel, which can dry out and fall off, and then the data must be manually interpreted by a doctor. This entire process takes more time and produces more medical waste than it needs to,” says Woo Soo Kim, professor at SFU’s School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering.
Kim shares that their dry electrodes are just as accurate as gel-based sensors.
“They are more comfortable for patients, easier to use, and they can be sanitized and reused to significantly reduce waste.”
Kim says that the most important aspect is that the AI algorithm can help doctors make faster, more accurate diagnoses. Test results will be able to be sent electronically to physicians for confirmation making the process quicker and more efficient.
A study on this monitoring system was published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics. This study was led by SFU post-doctorate student Yiting Chen and encompassed Kim and a few others as well.
It shares that Kim’s team tested the dry electrodes with frontline nurses from Vancouver General Hospital’s cardiac monitoring unit.
The nurses reported that the dry electrodes and chest belt design could significantly improve patient comfort and compliance during any long-term monitoring. As of right now this monitoring is being done by using a bulky Holter monitor.
Kim says that “this eco- and user-friendly tool presents a unique opportunity to improve personalized heart monitoring for long-term cardiac monitoring as well as high-demand health-care settings.” He says this will include emergency rooms, hospital wards and senior care facilities.
This will also be able to help people in rural, First Nations and remote communities where access to diagnostic tools and physicians is limited.
Kim’s team is now focused on refining the AI’s pre-diagnostic algorithm, and shrinking down the size of the 3D printed origami electrode down to one-third of its current height.
Read Kim and his team’s full study posted on the Science Direct website.