The QardioArm is an Indiegogo-funded, iOS and Android-compatible, oscillometric smart blood pressure monitor that premiered at CES 2014 and became available for purchase over the summer. I had a chance to chat with Marco Peluso, Founder and CEO of Qardio, Inc to learn more about the company and their product before trying the device out for myself.

Michael Batista, Medgadget: What made you personally interested in mobile health technology?

Peluso: A few years ago, I was on the phone with my father when he experienced a stroke. Luckily, being in touch with him at the time, we were able to address the situation by getting him to a hospital quickly. What was frustrating was that while my father was treated, the doctor’s could not easily make a diagnosis on what had happened. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end. Months later, my father was experiencing additional cardiovascular issues that prevented him from doing simple workouts like jogging. I found it astounding that medicine had still not developed the tools to allow a patient to be easily cognizant about their own health, particularly heart health.

Medgadget: What is Qardio’s vision?

Peluso: Our vision, from a product development point of view, is to develop products that provide value to both patients and their providers and, ideally, combine the best of both worlds. We want to empower patients to collect important data and make that data available to their doctors. Heart health is a great place to begin with this in mind given the 84 million patients in the US diagnosed with a heart-related medical condition.

Medgadget: What was the goal when you set out to make the QardioArm?

We wanted to provide a solution that fits into everyday life; a medical device that doesn’t look like a medical device. We wanted to build something you could see having with you at your desk, in your briefcase, or at the gym. So first we focused on the design and put an enormous amount of effort into the functionality and ease of use of our product from the very first time you have it in your hands. Want people to look at the QardioArm as a friendly, useful device that can help them feel better.

Along with our design goals, we delved into the key features we felt were important to take good recordings and add value to users. For example, when taking the blood pressure recording the app presents a calming image. Several clinical studies have shown that certain kinds of photos, like those with children, animals, and landscapes, are effective at calming patients down which is essential to capture an accurate blood pressure recording. We also focus on finding ways to engage doctors as well as a patient’s family and friends who might also be concerned about their loved one’s health.

Medgadget: How do you involve doctors, family, or friends?

Peluso: We do a few things that involve the doctor, family, or friends at the discretion of the patient. For doctors, we integrate them with their patients using the QardioArm with a dashboard where they can monitor the data being collected by their patients. We look at the data flow to make sure patients are not falsely reporting their measurements whether on purpose or by accident. For family and friends, we have a feature on our app that allows approved individuals to receive a notification when the patient records a measurement. The benefit of bringing these people into the data collection process is the opportunity for patients to get support from loved ones they trust.

Medgadget: Where do you see Qardio going next?

Peluso: The QuardioArm was our first important step towards deploying our vision to provide consumers with the ability to better monitor themselves and create a technology for doctors that provides an efficient, user-friendly way for their patients to capture medical data. With that in place, we’re now working on other devices related to heart health. Right now we’re excited for the upcoming release of QuardioCore, a mobile electrocardiogram scheduled to come out next Spring (2015).

For this product review, I used the QardioArm with an iPhone 5. Of note, the QardioArm is FDA approved in the U.S. and CE marked in Europe.

Hardware

Blood pressure monitors typically have two main hardware components: the rigid sensor housing and the cuff which wraps around the upper arm. While varying in their specific shapes, most rigid sensor housings are roughly the same size and weight. What varies more widely is the design of the cuff. Some products opt for a rigid cuff to make sliding the device around the arm easy, while others opt for a soft material to make the device collapsible. The QardioArm falls into the latter category, but differentiates itself with a cuff that completely wraps around the rigid housing making the collapsed product incredibly compact. The QardioArm is the most portable blood pressure monitor I have seen, its small size making the device ready for travel inside everything from a backpack to a purse.

Marco mentioned his team strove to differentiate their product by creating a tool that didn’t necessarily look like a medical device, and I think that was achieved. To be clear, QardioArm doesn’t sacrifice quality for looks. The device is easy to manipulate and put on with Velcro and magnetic fasteners, while small aspects of regular use like changing the battery and knowing when the device is on are all intuitive. The hardware is as robust as any blood pressure monitor I’ve used, with the added benefits of a great design that recognizes the needs of an active, mobile user.

source:QardioArm