Boston Medical Technologies, the pioneer of office and hospital-based, non-invasive systems for measurement of heart rate variability (HRV), announced that it has been granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its algorithm to reliably and accurately measure a patient's heart rate. The patent, US PAT NO. 5,984,954, titled "The Method and Apparatus for R-Wave Detection," eliminates 98 percent of the work associated with analysing a patient's heartbeat, making it easier and more efficient for physicians to include heart rate variability testing as a standard of care in a patient's office visit.

According to extensive published clinical data, heart rate variability can be used as an indicator of autonomic dysfunction--damage to the autonomic nervous system. Autonomic dysfunction is prevalent in patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy and peripheral neuropathy(1),(2),(3),(4).

The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) have recently declared heart rate variability to be the recommended test for detecting autonomic dysfunction in diabetes(5). According to published research, loss of heart rate variability in diabetic autonomic neuropathy is associated with up to a 50 percent mortality rate within five years of the onset of clinical symptoms(6). With diseases such as diabetes, it is important to identify autonomic dysfunction prior to the onset of symptoms because early intervention may prevent, slow or completely stop the onset or progression of clinical symptoms(2).

"One of the biggest hurdles to make heart rate variability testing an integral part of patient care has been the lengthy time it would traditionally take for testing and analysis. Physicians would need to determine by hand a patient's heart rate, which was a long and often error-prone process," said John Schafer, president and CEO of Boston Medical Technologies. "With our unique algorithm to measure heart rate variability, our Process Centre is able to determine a patient's heart rate variability quickly and efficiently, and the results are then automatically forwarded to the physician's office. Remarkably, this entire process only takes 15 minutes."

With Boston Medical Technologies' Anscore Health Management System, a patient can have their heart rate variability assessed and documented in response to paced respiration and other controlled exercises. The data is then transmitted through standard phone lines in the physician's office to Boston Medical Technologies' Process Centre where trained analysts review each test and apply the patented algorithm to calculate standard indices and ratios for heart rate variability.

Within minutes, comprehensive results are electronically transmitted directly to the physician's office. From taking the test to receiving the results, heart rate variability testing with the Anscore Health Management System only takes 15 minutes, enabling physician and patient to immediately discuss its implications for treatment and compliance. This patent-pending process not only ensures that each heartbeat is carefully measured for reliable and accurate analysis, but it is completed in approximately half the time of traditional methods.