At Ohio State University’s Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital http://wexmedical.osu.edu/vascular, doctors are testing a high tech vest to measure fluid inside the lungs from outside a person’s clothing. This may be a new way to prevent repeated trips to the hospital for the nearly six million Americans living with heart failure.
The “SensiVest” created by Sensible Medical http://sensible-medical.com uses radar technology that was first used by the military and rescue teams to see through walls and rubble in collapsed buildings.
“Now technology has been miniaturized and put into a form that allows the radar to go through the chest wall and get an accurate measurement of water inside the lungs, reports Dr William Abraham, Director for the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
So far, cardiologists haven’t had a non-invasive way to proactively monitor for fluid changes. The standard has been to rely on patients weighing themselves daily and reporting symptoms such as swelling or shortness of breath.
Doctors are now testing the vest in a national, randomized clinical trial in about 40 sites across the country to see if it effectively monitors and manages lung fluid, reduces hospitalizations, and improves the quality of life.
Patients enrolled in the trial receive the highest standard of care for heart failure. Those patients randomized to the treatment group will also use the lung fluid monitor at home to take daily readings. The vest worn over clothing requires about 90 seconds to get a reading. The data is uploaded to a secure server where the patient’s cardiologist or nurse can review it.
A previous small observational study compared hospitalizations before and after using the vest. That study showed an 87 percent reduction in heart failure hospitalizations using vest lung fluid monitoring.