Johnson & Johnson and Apple on Tuesday announced a new study to examine the potential of wearable technology to detect heart problems.
The Heartline Study hopes to recruit participants enrolled in Medicare age 65 or older and possessing an iPhone 6s or later. Health experts suggested the study’s mobile app, the ECG app and and the irregular heartbeat notification feature on the Apple Watch could enable earlier detection of atrial fibrillation, a leading cause of stroke.
The study’s website invites potential participants to get started by downloading the app on Apple’s App Store.
"Heartline is a study that has the potential to fundamentally change our understanding of how digital health tools,” Harvard Medical School’s Dr. C. Michael Gibson — a Heartline Executive Committee co-chair — said in the companies’ announcement.
Those enrolled in the two-year study would also be able to participate remotely, which could pave the way for cheaper, more efficient clinical trials in the future.
