For World Heart Day, EIT Health is showcasing three innovative approaches in the fight against cardiovascular disease in Europe
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes 3.9 million deaths in Europe every year. It is one of society’s biggest challenges as well as a significant economic burden; with an estimated cost to the EU of over €210 billion per year.
EIT Health actively supports the development of innovations that aim to improve cardiac health. This varies from preventative measures to aid cardiovascular disease management, projects dedicated to the promotion of healthy living to keep hearts healthy, and solutions that can be used to detect disease and help diagnosed patients to manage their condition.
EIT Health finds new ways of addressing the growing challenge of CVD by collaborating with healthcare’s leading players to design and develop innovative solutions, programmes, and initiatives, as well as creating and scaling the most promising new companies all working together to fight this pressing health burden.
CEO of EIT Health, Jan-Philipp Beck said: “EIT Health believes innovation is the answer to some of the challenges posed by CVD, and strives to support transformational solutions to aid optimal prevention, treatment and management. We bring together the brightest minds from the worlds of business, research and education to accelerate cutting-edge advancements, putting innovation in the hands of those who may benefit.”
From a mobile app that detects irregular heartbeats and helps prevent strokes, to digital software that helps stroke survivors in their rehabilitation, here are three EIT Health innovations, helping European citizens to improve their quality of life and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.
The app helping to prevent stroke: FibriCheck
FibriCheck was the first smartphone app designed to detect heart rhythm disorder, without using any external medical devices, to receive a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
Co-founded by Bieke Van Gorp and Lars Grieten in Belgium, FibriCheck can help prevent stroke by detecting atrial fibrillation and other heart rhythm disorders using a smartphone or smartwatch.
By placing a finger on the smartphone’s camera, the app measures a person’s heart rhythm for one minute and gives them a detailed report and immediate actionable results, reviewed by FibriCheck’s team of medical experts. Users can then track their heart rhythm history and look back on how it has changed.
FibriCheck has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and designation as a diagnostic device. It can now be used by clinicians around the world thanks to this as well as its European Conformity (CE) medical approval. Over 130,000 people have so far been screened using the app.
A cardiac implant to treat strokes: AuriGen Medical
Irish company AuriGen Medical has developed a cardiac implant to treat both the stroke and arrhythmia risk associated with persistent atrial fibrillation.
AuriGen Medical employs single-use sensors and software algorithms to give doctors feedback on the quality of an ablation cardiac treatment that corrects certain types of abnormal heart rhythms. This results in potentially increasing the treatment success rates and reducing procedure times.
The cardiac implant was part of the EIT Health-supported fellowship programme BioInnovate Ireland and has since secured significant funding, which will be used to advance product development in preparation for the first human trials of the device in 2020.
The device could provide significant savings to healthcare providers, reducing the need for repeat ablations. Roughly 8 million patients across Europe are affected by persistent irregular heartbeat and AuriGen Medical believes its device could help the majority of patients.
A software-based stroke rehabilitation therapy: Vigo
Vigo is a digital therapeutic software created in order to aid the recovery process of stroke survivors.
There are physical, emotional and economic burdens associated with stroke which all require significant care, consideration and rehabilitation. Receiving rehabilitation has been shown to improve functional outcomes, decrease mortality and reduce the length of hospital stays. However, stroke survivors often require long-term rehabilitation, which isn’t always easily accessible.
Vigo supplies the user with important information about life after stroke, recognises how they might be feeling, providing advice and support and equips them with the skills they may need to tackle the many challenges they face in the wake of a stroke. The software offers psychotherapy tools generally unavailable long term to the majority of stroke survivors, including those based on counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy.
