AliveCor’s KardiaMobile 6L provides FDA-approved 6-lead ECG from tiny iPhone accessory

The AliveCor KardiaMobile 6L provides a six-lead ECG reading from a tiny device that connects via Bluetooth to your iPhone or Android smartphone.

While the Apple Watch provides a 1-lead ECG, which is enough to detect AFib, the KardiaMobile 6L can take a six-lead ECG to detect a wider range of conditions and provide a doctor with more detailed information …

• Detects AFib, Bradycardia, Tachycardia & Normal heart rhythm
• 6-lead EKG gives your doctor more detailed heart information
• Provides doctors visibility into certain arrhythmias that are leading indicators of cardiovascular disease

The company cites a cardiologist welcoming the device.

“I am impressed with the quality and simplicity of 6-lead smartphone ECG tracings which will unquestionably sharpen our ability to diagnose heart rhythm and conduction abnormalities.”

Eric Topol, MD, Cardiologist, Founder and Director Scripps Research Translational Institute, and author of the new book “Deep Medicine“

The company stresses that Dr. Topol has no financial or research relationship with AliveCor.

FDA approval means that the government is satisfied that the claims made for the device are justified by clinical studies.

While a 6-lead reading might suggest something half as complex as the bulky 12-lead systems used by paramedics and doctors, the device itself is extremely compact. You just place your thumbs on the top and touch the rear sensor to your left knee or ankle.

Interestingly, AliveCor’s more basic version, the KardiaMobile EKG Monitor, recently won FDA approval for detecting Bradycardia and Tachycardia. That’s something the Apple Watch can technically do, but Apple can’t make the claim as it doesn’t yet have FDA approval to indicate anything other than normal heart rhythm and AFib.

The KardiaMobile 6L is available for pre-order today at $149, with delivery noted as 6-8 weeks. The more basic 1-lead monitor remains available for $99.

The Apple Watch has been credited with detecting potentially fatal heart conditions in a whole succession of cases since the ECG feature was introduced.