eHealth – Smart Devices revolutionieren die Kardiologie

BACKGROUND: The use of smart devices such as smartphones and smartwatches in cardiology continues to significantly increase. The widespread use is also promoted by patients and the industry. OBJECTIVES: The goal is to assess different opportunities of smart devices in cardiology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A selected review of the literature was carried out. Scientific and clinical studies regarding possible applications of these devices were evaluated. RESULTS: The use of smartphones in Germany is among the highest worldwide. This allows very broad use of this technology in general and in the medical field. There are various potential applications ranging from a reference source over clinical decision support to biosignal sensing. Particularly, the combination of biosignal collection and interpretation by artificial intelligence could lead to a significant improvement of our diagnostic methods and precisely predict the course of various cardiovascular diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Smart devices are already increasingly used in daily clinical practice. Due to the numerous technical opportunities, the use of these devices will further spread and, most probably, will transform cardiology.