A smart-technology wearable wristband may automatically detect cardiac arrest, potentially leading to faster medical assistance and improved survival odds for out-of-hospital cases, according to new research published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
The DETECT‑1b study analyzed data from 49 adults in the Netherlands with abnormal heart rhythms who underwent a medical procedure that briefly induced a life-threatening heart rhythm. The algorithm-based wristband detected cardiac arrest 92% of the time, specifically identifying 100% of ventricular fibrillation and 90% of pulseless ventricular tachycardia events.
“Our findings are important because many out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are unwitnessed. A smart technology wristband capable of automatically detecting cardiac arrest and triggering an alert could function as a digital witness,” said study senior author Judith Bonnes, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, Netherlands. “With the device automatically notifying emergency services or nearby trained responders, help could arrive sooner, which may significantly improve survival chances.”
The wristband uses a light-based technique (photoplethysmography) to continuously monitor blood flow changes in the wrist, distinguishing it from previous approaches that were not designed for continuous, unobtrusive daily monitoring. Lead study author Roos Edgar, M.Sc., a technical physician at Radboud University Medical Center, noted, “This is the first study to externally validate such an algorithm using patient data, which is an important step toward developing a reliable detection system for real-world use.”
During 125 hours of recording, researchers observed 59 shockable cardiac arrest events. Nine events were classified as false positives, and the per-patient analysis showed 92% accuracy. While the study was small, Cameron Dezfulian, M.D., FAHA, chair of the American Heart Association’s Resuscitation Science Symposium Program Committee, who was not involved in the study, highlighted the low false positive rate as particularly impressive. “This study parallels findings from a study in Canada and one in the U.S. that shows this technology has great potential,” he said, adding that further research is needed for pulseless electrical activity, which remains the most common presenting rhythm in cardiac arrest.
The research was conducted in a controlled clinical setting, a limitation noted by Bonnes, who said the system’s real-world effectiveness still needs evaluation. Future applications aim to connect the wristband to emergency dispatch centers and volunteer responder networks. “The goal is to connect the wristband to emergency dispatch centers and volunteer responder networks in the Netherlands so that nearby rescuers and ambulance services can be alerted immediately when cardiac arrest is detected,” Bonnes said.
Participants had a median age of 66 years, with 84% being men. The DETECT project is a collaboration of several hospitals and a company in the Netherlands. For more information, view the manuscript online. Additional resources from the American Heart Association include information on what is cardiac arrest and a news release on equitable access to digital technologies.
