Introduction

The invention aims to solve the problem of obtaining a daily home follow-up of patients exposed to the risk of congestive heart failure, with the objective of guaranteeing prompt medical intervention in case of need and avoiding the acute phase and the consequent hospitalization. The device consists of a wearable multi-sensor active array containing: microphones for recording SCG traces, electrodes for recording the ECG trace, inertial measurement unit for assessing the posture and state of rest of the subject.

Technical features

The invention aims to exploit heart sounds, which have characteristics that allow to highlight a worsening of the heart’s pump function before this leads to the decompensation phase. Although both electrocardiogram (ECG) and sonocardiogram (SCG) individually are not sufficient to diagnose heart failure, recent studies show that their simultaneous recording opens up new perspectives in the field of early identification of its onset and in the formulation of prognosis. The device for which the patent is proposed consists of an active multi-sensor array containing all the sensors necessary to obtain accurate and reliable measurements at the patient’s home and usable by the patient himself or by a caregiver without medical-nursing skills, and consequence of allowing a timely forecast of the onset of the acute phase of heart failure.

Possible Applications

• Home monitoring of patients identified as being at risk of heart failure.

Advantages

• High precision in following the evolution of the patient’s status;
• High timeliness in predicting the onset of acute phase of heart failure.