cardiac health WEARABLE PATCH with PROACTIVE HAPTIC FEEDBACK.
Summer 2017 - Present
Incubated at MIT Launch Entrepreneurship Program
Revisited in USC Iovine & Young Academy Garage Experience
1/ Research
problem
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the genetic heart condition that is the leading cause of sudden death in athletes today. The more intense physical activity an individual with HCM does, the greater the risk of an irregular heart rhythm that could lead to cardiac arrest, followed by sudden death. In response to the high risk, individuals with HCM are cautioned to steer significantly on the safe side: no competitive athletics and no pushing themselves physically, which for an athlete, may mean not doing what they love for risk of losing their life.
Individuals with HCM are often advised to stay below a safe maximum heart rate that is determined by a subjective analysis by their cardiologist. While staying below that heart rate will decrease the chances of an irregular heart rhythm, the reality is that it’s difficult to determine what that safe maximum heart rate is without substantial data, and the number provided by the cardiologist may therefore be arbitrary.
Additionally, cardiac arrest can occur at any heart rate, even significantly below the “safe maximum.”
There is a lack of awareness and clarity on how to guide an individual with HCM towards being physically active at safe levels. This results in patients either leading longer lives that are less full or fuller lives that end too soon.
target users
/ Individuals diagnosed with HCM: 1.5 million Americans
/ Individuals aged 15 to 55: those who most tend to desire control of their physical activity and are concerned with the risk of sudden death
research process
User Research:
/ Surveys distributed amongst Facebook groups & online forums – 40+ HCM patients & loved ones
/ 1:1 phone interviews – 30+ HCM patients & loved ones
Market Research:
/ Up-to-date competitive analysis on medical-grade and consumer-facing healthcare products
Medical & Technological Research:
/ Literature review of scholarly sources
2/ solution
There is opportunity for a wearable solution that provides peace of mind for individuals restricted by heart conditions, through data-driven preventative feedback.
The proposed solution is a wearable patch that collects highly useful data pertaining to HCM, ventricular fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia, analyzes it using AI to understand each user, and provides preventative haptic feedback to inform the user when they need to slow down or get help before the irregular heart rhythm occurs or progresses.
I am proposing a wearable patch that collects highly useful data pertaining to HCM, VT, and VF, analyzes it using AI to understand each user, and provides preventative haptic feedback to inform the user when they need to slow down or get help before the irregular heart rhythm occurs or progresses.
3/ initial sketches
4/ functional PROTOTYPE
1/ haptic feedback
The user inputs their safe maximum heart rate. When they exceed that level, they are provided haptic feedback so they know to slow down.
2/ noting current heart rate
The user presses a button on the patch to make note of their current heart rate. This is for when a user feels like they need to listen to their body and slow down before they have received the haptic feedback.
5/ form PROTOTYPE
/ 3D printed prototype:
6/ next steps
I am currently diving deeper into the medical and technical research that backs up this solution, guiding a potential pivot. I am also working with a technical teammate to develop the next prototype of this product.