Clinical Validation of a Low-power and Wearable ECG Patch for Long Term Full-disclosure Monitoring

Background: Detection of intermittent atrial fibrillation (AF) is done using a 24-h Holter. Holter recordings are powerful but lack the comfort and have limited recording times resulting in under diagnosing of intermittent AF.

Objective: Within this work we evaluated and compared a novel miniaturized three-channel ECG monitoring patch versus a 24-h Holter system.

Methods: Both patients with a chronic AF rhythm (n=5) as well as patients with an AF rhythm that underwent electrical reconversion (n = 5) were equipped with both a 24-h Holter and ECG patch.

Results: Alignment of raw data of both ECG systems allowed cross-correlation analysis. Overall good correlations of up to 85% were obtained. RR-interval analysis of both systems resulted in very high correlations of 99% and higher. AF analysis showed correct identification of AF on both ECG systems.

Conclusions: The performance of our ECG patch matches that of the 24-h Holter and could provide a suitable tool for long-term monitoring applications.