Investment from Mayo Clinic Will Advance Trials to Help Better Detect and Combat Fatal Cardiac Genetic Disease
AliveCor, the leader in FDA-cleared personal electrocardiogram (ECG) technology, today announced a collaboration with Mayo Clinic to develop tools for medical and non-medical personnel to easily screen for long QT syndrome (LQTS) early by combining AliveCor’s AI technology with Mayo’s patented algorithms. LQTS is both a congenital and acquired disorder; the inherited form leaves 160,000 people in the U.S. vulnerable to this deadly disease and causes 3,000 to 4,000 sudden deaths in children and young adults annually in the U.S. The acquired form of LQTS is often caused by medications, such as antibiotics and antidepressants, prescribed to many millions of patients every year.
Through this collaboration, new methods and techniques to detect LQTS will be developed for AliveCor’s Kardia Mobile device, a device that is both portable and affordable. The collaboration envisions a tool that will enable people to practice preventive medicine on an unprecedented scale and provide instantaneous results previously unavailable unless patients visited a doctor’s office.
“To prevent this type of sudden death, increased awareness and screening is critical. AliveCor’s patented artificial intelligence technology, algorithms and millions of ECGs, paired with Mayo Clinic’s extensive data and world-leading clinical expertise will mean enhanced safety and decreased risk for many,” said Vic Gundotra, CEO, AliveCor. “This new technology could one day allow pharmacists, coaches and others to actively screen for and prevent sudden cardiac deaths.”
AliveCor provides the first consumer-ready, clinically validated and FDA-cleared ECG to give patients a more complete view of their heart health, improve proactive monitoring and create a new standard of cardiac care. The ECG holds a vast amount of information about a person’s overall health and applies machine learning to millions of ECG recordings as an important enhancement to the traditional ECG analysis.
“This agreement makes our vision of universal screening for the early detection of long QT syndrome – a potentially lethal, yet highly treatable condition – one step closer to reality. The electrical heart cycle is emerging as the next vital sign. With very few exceptions, we now know that a prolonged cycle – whether caused by genetics, drugs, electrolyte disturbances or by other diseases – indicates increased risk for early death,” said Michael J. Ackerman, M.D., Ph.D. , director of Mayo Clinic’s Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory.˚ “Any of these deaths could be averted with simple preventive and/or counteractive measures.”
The investment from Mayo adds to the recent infusion of $30 million of capital AliveCor received in spring of 2017 and will accelerate innovations in heart health and continue the rapid expansion of the business.
Mayo Clinic and Dr. Michael J. Ackerman have a financial interest in the technology referenced in this news release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.
About AliveCor
AliveCor, Inc. is pioneering the creation of FDA-cleared ‘machine learning’ techniques to enable proactive heart care and is recognized around the world for transforming cardiac care. The FDA-cleared Kardia Mobile is the most clinically validated mobile ECG solution on the market and is recommended by leading cardiologists and used by people worldwide for accurate ECG recordings. This simple-to-use mobile device and app-based service provides instant analysis for detecting atrial fibrillation (AF) and normal sinus rhythm in an ECG. Kardia Pro is the first AI-enabled platform for doctors to monitor patients for the early detection of atrial fibrillation, the the most common cardiac arrhythmia that leads to a five times greater risk of stroke. AliveCor was recognized by Fast Company as one of 2017’s most innovative companies in health (#3). AliveCor is a privately-held company headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For more information, please visit alivecor.com.
For more information on partnership inquiries, please contact the following:
US:
bizdev@alivecor.com
International:
bizdevintl@alivecor.com
Media Contact: Morgan Mathis at Highwire PR for AliveCor
alivecor@highwirepr.com