US experts have developed a wrist-worn device that can detect the troponin eye protein, which is added to the blood after a heart attack, in an unconventional way. Photo: File
New Jersey: A world-first wrist-worn device has been developed that can diagnose heart attacks and narrowed coronary arteries by identifying proteins released after a heart attack in just five minutes.
The invention, described at the annual session of the American College of Cardiology, can confirm both conditions with 90 percent accuracy.
Experts have detailed what has been dubbed the ‘Troponin Sensor’ after trials at several institutions. As soon as a heart attack occurs, some amount of a protein called troponin I is added to the blood. A blood test is done to confirm this, but it may take a long time. Only after a heart attack is confirmed do doctors start appropriate treatment or conduct further tests.
This not only allows immediate confirmation of a heart attack, but also gives life-saving medical personnel time to plan. It was developed by Dr. Parthusing Gupta and colleagues at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.
Narrowing of the arteries can lead to a heart attack and a troponin test is done after arrival at the hospital. If a patient wears this sensor on the wrist, treatment can be initiated without the traditional troponin eye test in the busiest emergency room, saving thousands of lives per minute.
The device is worn on the wrist and emits infrared light that passes through the skin into the veins and can identify the troponin eye protein. Its signals are transmitted via Bluetooth to a machine where an algorithm predicts whether or not a heart attack will occur.
After this success, experts have started working on its business model.
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