New sensory device could cut heart failure hospitalisations

Published in the European Journal of Heart Failure, the study assessed the impact of Analog Devices’ Sensinel Cardiopulmonary Management System, a non-invasive device that is applied to a patient’s chest. Using multiple sensors, Sensinel measures several physiological parameters to gauge the level of fluid accumulation in the heart – a key metric for assessing whether heart failure patients require medical intervention.

Today, patients with heart failure are often admitted to hospital multiple times for treatment with intravenous diuretics to relieve fluid congestion. Current methods to detect this congestion rely on expensive, invasive monitoring using specially designed pacemakers or sensors implanted directly in the lung.

The Glasgow team found Sensinel was able to detect changes in fluid in patients with heart failure who had been admitted to hospital to receive fluid removal, either by decongestion therapy or haemodialysis. Patients wear the device for just a few minutes twice a day, with data sent to an app via Bluetooth that can subsequently be assessed by medical professionals. According to the Glasgow team, the study shows the device has the potential to reduce hospital admissions.

“This innovative system captures numerous vital patient measurements, aligning closely with the metrics we rely on in clinical practice to identify fluid overload,” said senior author Pardeep Jhund, Professor of Cardiology and Epidemiology at Glasgow University.

“As the device is designed to be used by patients at home, we hope that in the future that we can give the device to patients and detect fluid accumulation early, thereby allowing us to alter their medication and prevent them from needing a costly hospital admission. As the device is only worn for less than five minutes twice a day this could be a real alternative to expensive implanted monitors or monitors that have to be worn all the time.”

For the study – COrelation of the Non-invasive CardioPulmonary Management wearable device with measures of conGESTion in Heart Failure study (CONGEST-HF) – 66 patients were included, including those who were admitted to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and the Scottish National Advanced Heart Failure Unit. Analog Devices provided funding to the university for the design and conduct of the study.