BIOTELEMETRY, INC. EXPANDS MCOT™ SERVICE TO MONITOR LIFE-THREATENING QT PROLONGATION IN COVID-19 PATIENTS
Only remote cardiac monitoring company whose proprietary connected system has FDA-approved indication to measure, analyze and report QT interval
MALVERN, Pa., March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioTelemetry, Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAT), a leading remote medical technology company focused on the delivery of health information to improve quality of life and reduce cost of care, today announced the activation of an expanded service using its Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry (MCOT™) to monitor life-threatening QT prolongation in COVID-19 patients. As a reminder, MCOT is the most accurate and studied arrhythmia monitoring detection system in the market. It provides up to 30 days of near real time monitoring without patients needing to leave their homes. The Company is currently implementing this COVID-19 monitoring initiative in several major institutions and physicians have already started using this service.
Certain medications being used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, including hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, can cause an abnormality in the heart’s electrical system known as QT prolongation; this serious condition can unfortunately lead to sudden cardiac arrest or death. As part of its FDA 510(k) clearance, MCOT has a specific indication for use with patients requiring measurement, analysis and reporting of QT interval. MCOT can be used to help physicians monitor and adjust the dosing of COVID-19 medications, as well as detect any other arrhythmias that may occur during treatment. As such, patients can benefit from continuous monitoring using MCOT as a connected solution. This new program is an “end-to-end” solution including an over-read service performed by a cardiologist if so desired.
“BioTelemetry’s MCOT provides the unique ability to monitor for prolonged QT in COVID-19 patients while at the same time providing an option for hospitals to transition people from inpatient to outpatient,” said Manish Wadhwa, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.H.R.S., Chief Medical Officer of BioTelemetry. “As the burden on healthcare systems worldwide is increasing, remote cardiac monitoring for these high risk patients provides doctors the necessary information to adjust treatments, further protecting their patients and freeing up hospital beds for those most in need.”
Joseph H. Capper, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioTelemetry, added: “In these stressful times, we are making rapid adjustments in our business to support the evolving needs of our customers. The COVID-19 monitoring program we just initiated is an example of how we are leveraging our technology to support healthcare providers on the front line of this battle.
“We are also seamlessly shifting resources to support an increase in demand for our well-established at-home activation model, as physicians employ more telehealth visits. Additionally, we are receiving requests to use MCOT to augment in-patient telemetry needs as hospital capacity is being over-tasked. We just implemented this program in two large institutions.
“The message to healthcare providers is simple: We are here to help in whatever way possible, and thank you for your unbelievable service.”
About BioTelemetry
BioTelemetry, Inc. is the leading remote medical technology company focused on delivery of health information to improve quality of life and reduce cost of care. We provide remote cardiac monitoring, centralized core laboratory services for clinical trials, remote blood glucose monitoring and original equipment manufacturing that serves both healthcare and clinical research customers. More information can be found at .
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