Researcher Helen Chen, faculty of Applied Health Sciences, is disrupting traditional models of health care.
Chen is the software lead for a collaboration between a team at the University of Waterloo and Dynacare. Together, they are working to launch a smart, mobile ECG the size of a credit card.
Chen's ECG is a mobile, innovative tool that will allow people with chest pain to be assessed at home, rather than the emergency room. The device is compatible with smartphones and tablets, and can be used by cardiologists to diagnose arrhythmia or heart attack.
Current ECGs being used by health professionals in retirement homes are expensive, bulky, and require paper copies for correspondence. Interpretation and diagnosis could take up to two weeks. With Chen's ECG, results can be obtained right away, and a diagnosis can be given on the spot.