Take a seat. That’s what’s required to use a new health tech form factor. We often write about wearable wristbands, pins, headbands, and hearables, as well as implants and carryables with embedded biometric sensors. HeartHealth Intelligence is developing The Heart Seat, a toilet seat that competes with the gold standard, clinical-grade cardiovascular health measures. The sittable form factor has many advantages over other types of biometric measurement devices, particularly for remote monitoring of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The Heart Seat has integrated sensors, data storage, and multiple wireless transmission options. The device looks like a conventional toilet seat and is fully self-contained. The seat works without any user interaction other than sitting. Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology Studies Microsystems Engineering department published studies that demonstrated the Heart Seat’s capabilities in JMIR mHealth and uHealth in 2018 and 2019.
The Heart Seat has integrated ECG, ballistocardiogram, and photoplethysmogram sensors. The Rochester studies showed the Heart Seat’s monitoring system data was comparable to clinical-grade measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, stroke volume, and peripheral blood oxygen.
HeartHealth Intelligence continues to develop the Heart Seat’s algorithms and plans future clinical trials and we look forward to hearing more about this technology. The Heart Seat’s role in remote monitoring with CVD patients could make a significant difference in heading off problems before they worsen and reducing the chances of hospital readmission. Assuming patients will sit on it, the Heart Seat eliminates issues related to patient compliance with remote monitoring.
