In-home cardiac monitoring system for cardiac patients during a pandemic such as COVID-19

冠状病毒病（COVID-19）对心脏病患者的健康有直接和间接的影响。加拿大心血管学会（CCS）建议推迟对任何被视为“低风险”的患者进行监测，加拿大各地的卫生当局已下令将心脏病房的大多数患者送回家，以尽量减少感染COVID-19的风险。然而，没有家庭心脏监测系统可以为这些患者提供必要的功能和能力，使他们处于非常脆弱的境地。目前的项目旨在开发一种智能可穿戴心脏监测设备，在家患者或其家人可以使用，医疗保健专业人员的帮助最小。该设备将在非临床环境中提供临床级心电图（ECG），识别关键心脏状况异常，并将采集的信号安全地远程传输给主治心脏病专家。我们的最终目标是为居家或长期护理机构的心脏病患者提供临床级别的心脏监测服务，即使他们无法亲自留在临床机构，例如在COVID-19危机期间。

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has direct and indirect health effects on patients with cardiac conditions. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) has recommended deferring any patients deemed 'low risk' for monitoring and health authorities across Canada have ordered that most patients in cardiac wards be sent home to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19. However, there is no in-home cardiac monitoring system that can provide the necessary functionalities and capacities for these patients, leaving these them in a highly vulnerable situation. The current project aims at developing a smart wearable cardiac monitor device that at-home patients or their family members can use, with minimal assistance from healthcare professionals. The device will provide clinical-grade electrocardiogram (ECG) in non-clinical environment, identify key cardiac condition abnormalities and securely transmit the acquired signal to attending cardiologist(s) remotely. The ultimate goal is to provide cardiac patients, who are staying at home or long-term care facilities, with clinical-grade cardiac monitoring service even if they are not able to physically stay at clinical facilities, such as during the COVID-19 crisis.