What today’s telemonitoring does and where it hits its limits

In Germany, a national telemonitoring program is already in operation: patients with more severe disease have a defibrillator implanted, while in others weight, blood pressure, and ECG are monitored and treatment is adjusted based on changes. Such oversight detects the rise in symptoms mainly in the last days before hospitalization. In heart failure, however, problems begin earlier, with a gradual increase in the so-called filling pressures in the heart. It is precisely these internal pressures that are an early signal that standard non-invasive measurements often fail to capture.

How the new filling pressure measurement works

Seling’s solution calculates filling pressures remotely using a standard pulse oximeter that the patient has at home. The measurement is performed in two positions, the data are sent via Bluetooth and the internet to servers, where artificial intelligence algorithms estimate the filling pressures. The technology was validated against the gold standard – right heart catheterization. It is a medical device certified under the EU MDR in class IIb, and the development results are being published in international scientific journals.

In Slovakia, more than 700 patients are already in the telemonitoring program, and cardiologists collaborate with them, with a team of doctors and nurses from Seling reporting only clinically important changes. In Germany, the technology is added to the existing telemonitoring as a supplement, and pilots are underway in other countries as well. Preliminary six-month data from the service in Slovakia suggest a significant reduction in hospitalizations and deaths with a relatively low burden: for every 100 patients per month, about 18 phone calls, approximately 10 treatment adjustments, and only a few in-person visits. The team wants to continue with this setup and expand access to care for as many patients as possible.