@HEALTH

Picodev called upon for a technology close to its heart

How to enable a continuously connected t-shirt to send an electrocardiogram via the patient’s mobile to medical monitoring servers? Picodev managed to provide the solution to the Aix-en-Provence startup @-Health, the project leader.

They are called "wearables," from the English word referring to accessories integrating advanced computing and electronic elements that can be worn (wearable). Popularized by Google Glass and smartwatches, among others, this technology now equips clothing. Often for medical purposes. This is the case of CardioNexion, a connected t-shirt designed by the Aix-en-Provence company @-Health. Intended for people who have heart problems and require regular monitoring, it is equipped with sensors (small electrodes) placed around the heart, which at regular intervals perform a medical-quality electrocardiogram (ECG).

Picodev "twisted" the technology to achieve its goals

Since it is worn 24/7 and continuously records ECGs, the team faced a data flow processing problem. A real challenge, because the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology chosen for CardioNexion’s operation is usually used to transmit small amounts of data infrequently! Supported by a design office, Picodev therefore had to "twist" the technology so that the data collected by the sensors could then be transmitted via the patient’s smartphone to the @-Health platform servers, where operators analyze the electrocardiograms in real time. To do this, Picodev designed a prototype and developed the first version of the mobile app on Android allowing data collection and offering the possibility for the doctor and patient to be alerted by phone in case of anomaly detection. Besides being Picodev’s first client, from 2015 to 2023, this collaboration with @-Health was all the more stimulating because the project was developed as part of a scientific study in collaboration with doctors.

Technologies used: BLE, Android Learn more: www.healthcardionexion.com