
Doctors used an ER patient's FitBit data to justify electrical cardioversion - curtis
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/04/07/doctors_used_an_er_patient_s_fitbit_data_to_justify_electrical_cardioversion.html
======
brandonb
We (Cardiogram) have been working with UCSF cardiology on exactly this
problem: detecting abnormal heart rhythms using Apple Watch data.

The more data our algorithm sees, the more accurate it gets. If you own an
Apple Watch, you can join our study / download Cardiogram for iOS:
[https://mRhythmStudy.org](https://mRhythmStudy.org)
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cardiogram/id1000017994?ls=1...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cardiogram/id1000017994?ls=1&mt=8)

We also gave a talk at Strata last week going into some of the technical and
organizational challenges on applying deep learning to medicine:
conferences.oreilly.com/strata/hadoop-big-data-ca/public/schedule/detail/47144

If anybody has questions on heart rate sensors, machine learning in medicine,
or anything else, shout out!

~~~
mindcrime
As somebody who has both A. had a heart attack and B. is working on a machine
learning project now, this is a subject that's very, erm, near to my heart (
no pun intended really).

Do you have an email address you can be reached at brandonb? I'd love to chat
with you sometime if you're willing. I'm definitely interested in ways to
apply machine learning to health-care.

~~~
brandonb
Sure! Hit me up at brandon@cardiogr.am.

------
joshschreuder
I thought the HR detection on consumer fitness gear wasn't very accurate, yet
we are able to base medical decisions off it? Have I been misled?

~~~
mindcrime
I may have been told wrong, but I'm sure I recall being told that some
consumer heart rate monitors (the kind with a chest strap) are approximately
as accurate as what's used in a doctor's office. Now something that doesn't
use a chest strap... I don't know. Probably those are less accurate? And/or
maybe I'm the one who's been misled.

~~~
abraae
According to this article [http://www.tomsguide.com/us/heart-rate-
monitor,review-2885.h...](http://www.tomsguide.com/us/heart-rate-
monitor,review-2885.html), several consumer products are accurate to within 1
beat of an EKG.

------
gozur88
I'm not convinced here. Sure, they may have wanted to look at the FitBit for
confirmation, but surely the patient could tell them it had been only three
hours since he started to have trouble? You're not going to confuse three and
twenty four hours.

~~~
woof
From the article: "It wasn't clear, though, when it had started"

~~~
gozur88
Like I said, I'm skeptical. When your heart rate starts to soar you know it.

------
stared
I recommend using [https://www.alivecor.com/](https://www.alivecor.com/) (I
have one) - this one actually performs ECG (can be used on hands, but the best
results are when used on one's chest). Just measuring pulse gives a very
indirect, and unspecific, information of arrhythmia. (Still, it is great that
even such data can be used to save health or live.)

