Warsaw-based startup SmartMedics has created the market’s first simultaneous 18-lead ECG patch with a dedicated device and mobile app. The patch is wireless, radioactive and applied in less than 15 seconds.

It is the world’s smallest ECG device to provide a complete diagnosis of heart disease. The device fits in the palm of the hand and can be used at home.

SmartMedics is a private digital healthcare company. Its team consists of experts in research and development, design, engineering, data science, software, quality and healthcare professionals with many years of clinical experience.

SmartMedics’ mission will detect cardiac abnormalities, for use in home monitoring and cardiac telerehabilitation.

The device was developed by the team of Dr Lukasz Koltowski from the Medical University of Warsaw, who co-founded SmartMedics.

This ECG is the size of an in-ear headphone. It is lightweight, portable, even pocket-sized. It connects to the phone via bluetooth. The apparatus is glued to the body with a patch, and the main device is carried in a pocket or backpack”, said Dr Łukasz Kołtowski. “The aim of this equipment is not to enable patients to self-diagnose – there is still a long way to go before us. The idea is to collect the ECG signal where the patient is and as soon as possible after the occurrence of symptoms”, added Dr Koltowski.

The data is then sent via a smartphone to a server so that patient’s attending physician can immediately see the results of the test and react accordingly.

Szymon Ostrowski, the head of the SmartMedics engineering team, explained that operating their device is very simple and, unlike setting up a classic ECG, takes several seconds.

Adrian Andrzejewski