CardioComm Solutions' Technology Tapped for Stroke Prevention Trial

CardioComm Solutions, Inc. (EKG-TSX.V) has announced that it would be implementing its SMART Monitoring-based HeartCheck™ ECG screening solution in select Rexall Pharmacies during October 2014. Rexall is a Canadian pharmacy chain that operates more than 450 locations across 180 communities in Canada. 

This news is part of the Canadian Stroke Prevention Intervention Network's ("C-SPIN") trial for atrial fibrillation screening and stroke prevention, for which in-pharmacy screening is taking place at 20 select Rexall locations across Ontario and Alberta. The trial uses CardioComm's technology to aid in its atrial fibrillation screening process. 

The project entitled “Program for the Identification of ‘Actionable’ Atrial Fibrillation (‘PIAAF’)” is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and several industry partners. Two thousand individuals, aged 65 years and older, will ultimately be screened for the presence of atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, and diabetes risk in a pharmacy setting. The PIAFF-Pharmacy study is a collaborative initiative of the Canada-wide C-SPIN network, Rexall Pharmacies, Boehringer Ingelheim, McMaster University, University of Alberta, CardioComm Solutions, the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

As part of the trial, volunteers from the Heart and Stroke and Hamilton Health Sciences along with C-SPIN Study Coordinators will be present in all participating Rexall Pharmacies and will be trained to use CardioComm Solutions' HeartCheck™ ECG monitor for ECG screening of eligible subject. All ECGs will be uploaded through CardioComm’s patent-pending SMART Monitoring ECG service for interpretation by CardioComm’s ECG service and results will then be provided to the C-SPIN coordinating center. Physician office-based screening will be implemented next.

CardioComm has provided in-kind support to assist the C-SPIN study while receiving approximately $100,000 in funds in 2014 for supplying HeartCheck™ devices, SMART Monitoring access, training and maintenance, ECG electrodes, and ECG reading services. 

About CardioComm Solutions and its ECG Monitoring Technology

CardioComm specializes in software engineering of information management systems and integration of bio-monitoring devices for the cardiac and telemedicine markets. The Company’s electrocardiogram (ECG) and arrhythmia monitoring products and services enable quick and easy management of patient information and ECG recordings in a secure, reliable environment from anywhere in the world—specifically to record, view, analyze, and store patients’ ECGs for diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disorders. Rated as the best enabling technology for cardiac rhythm monitoring in 2012 by Frost & Sullivan, CardioComm Solutions’ technology is used in a number of software and hardware products designed for anyone who has been diagnosed with, or who may be at risk for, cardiovascular disease and specifically arrhythmias.

The Company’s handheld HeartCheck™ PEN ECG represents the first health monitoring technology for over-the-counter (OTC) consumer markets in the past 30 years. The HeartCheck™ devices (which also include a prescription HeartCheck™ Handheld ECG Monitor) have shown to be superior to manual pulse checks for atrial fibrillation screening and detection in clinical studies. These products are supported by the Company’s software and patent-pending “SMART Monitoring services,” which enable 24/7 patient monitoring and objective medical interpretation with the capacity for integrating ECG reporting into existing electronic medical records (EMRs), among other innovative features.