243 Pilot Study of the Samsung S-patch for Cardiac Monitoring

Abstract

Paroxysmal cardiac arrhythmia can cause serious morbidity but can be difficult to detect. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the Samsung S-patch wearable device compared to standard Holter monitors. We performed an open-label prospective pilot study on 12 patients from February to July 2019 at St Vincent’s Clinic who were referred for Holter monitoring for investigation of palpitations, syncope, or TIA/stroke. Patients were concurrently fitted with 24h or 7-day Holter monitor and S-patch, and completed a questionnaire at the end of the study. The recordings were analysed independently. Of the 12 patients (mean age 54.2 years and 50% male), 6 wore the S-patch for at least 48h beyond Holter monitoring. Of these, 2 had new diagnoses of arrhythmia. The average capture rate on Holter monitoring was 96.7% (SD +/- 2.9%) compared to S-patch of 78.2% (SD +/- 15%). 9 of 12 patients had short runs of arrhythmia on Holter monitoring. Of the 9, 2 had accurate correlation on S-patch, 4 showed sinus rhythm, and 3 had noise artefact. Majority of patients preferred the S-patch over Holter monitoring for its convenient design, but were concerned about frequent Bluetooth drop-outs and using the recording application software. The Samsung S-patch is user friendly with the ability to detect arrhythmias beyond standard Holter due to longer monitoring. The limitations include high Bluetooth drop-out and noise artefact. The S-patch may be useful in the selected cohort with infrequent paroxysmal arrhythmias causing major morbidity.