It was about time someone came up with preventive medical technology that can actually save money in health care, rather than add costs. The winner in this sector is the AngelMed Guardian cardiac monitor and alert system. This device not only warns people of an impending heart attack, enabling them to get treatment before it occurs, but it would also save costs in caring for people in the years after they survive a major heart attack.

Robert and David Fischell have invented the AngelMed Guardian cardiac monitor and alert system. David Fischell serves as the CEO of Angel Medical Systems, the New Jersey company that produces the device, which is already approved for use in Brazil. The company also hopes to secure FDA approval for use in the U.S. by the end of 2012

 

Implanted under the skin near the collarbone and using a wire placed in the right chamber of the heart, the pacemaker-sized device is intended for people who are at high risk of a heart attack - they have coronary artery disease, for instance - or have already experienced one and survived. The device monitors a person's cardiac activity for signs that indicate that a heart attack may occur. Using Bluetooth technology, the device alerts people via a pager so they can seek immediate medical attention. The more acute the symptoms, the more pronounced the alert.

 

After showing promise in an earlier trial with 20 high-risk patients, the AngelMed Guardian has begun a year-long Phase II clinical trial that will involve 1,200 patients at 30 medical centers. Half of the patients involved in the trial will receive alerts when early signs of a heart attack arise. The other half will not. The goal of the trial is to gather data that proves to the FDA that the device actually saves lives and prevents heart attacks.

 

For now, except for the fact that the device is still being trialled, it also costs a small fortune, $8,000 to $10,000 and even up to 20,000 US dollars installed. In time, and with future, smaller generations of the device and improved operating software, Fischell envisions a centralized service center that would receive the alerts as well. An operator would then contact that person to check their condition and urge them to seek medical care immediately.

 

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